Belgian Research institute for Fruit, Belgio

Dany Bylemans (general director) or Kris Vandenwyngaert (resp. Viticulture)

(ERANET CORE Organic Cofund) The SPiwi project aims to investigate and optimize strategies for a future oriented production of organic sparkling wines in 2 classical European vine producing regions (Northern Italy and Southern Germany) and a more northern region (Belgium), in which the area of vinegrapes is currently small but yet increasing with approximately 15-20% per year. Sustainability is addressed from multiple angles: (i) in the field phase the emphasis is on the selection of suitable resistant cultivars and on the development of guidelines for organic crop protection, (ii) a chemical-free vinification process is developed and will form the knowledge base for organic wine production with resistant cultivars and (iii) a consumer survey for the acceptability of those novel type of wines is executed. Moreover, the waste streams of the vinification process are qualified and quantified and the presence of bioactive compounds herein is described. The potential for the creation of added value products based on these bioactive compounds in pharmaceutical, cosmetical and food industries is assessed by presenting the results to those industries and by exploring their needs and interests in further product development. Besides guidance on the selection of disease resistant vinegrape varieties for planting, the management practices of the organic vineyard will be demonstrated and an economical feasibility study will be communicated to farmers. Regional differences at the location of the consortium members will address local farmers needs and give insights on the best choice in view of upcoming climatological challenges.

Expected results

Besides guidance on the selection of disease-resistant grape varieties for planting, the management practices of the organic vineyard will be demonstrated and an economical feasibility study will be communicated to farmers so that grapevine growers, oenologists and advisers can adapt their vineyard crop management and/or their vinification procedures according to the outcome of this project. Regional differences at the location of the consortium members will address local farmers' needs and give insights on the best choice in view of upcoming climatological challenges.