- The European Soil&WineResidues (SWR) consortium, led by the Misión Biológica de Galicia (CSIC), has activated an online technical consultation aimed at professionals in the wine sector in Spain, Portugal, southern France, and Andorra.
- The objective of this participatory survey is to identify critical challenges in the management and handling of soil and lignocellulosic residues generated on wine farms to guide the development of new technological solutions based on bio-refining processes.
The Soil&WineResidues project proposes a circular economy model for the utilization of vineyard plant remains (stalks, pomace, leaves, branches, and discarded fruits). Through a combination of several technological approaches, it proposes the eco-efficient in situ use of these lignocellulosic residues to improve the health and quality of vineyard soils, develop commercial products such as functional supplements or hydrogels, and obtain renewable energy. This approach eliminates transportation needs, reducing carbon emissions and returning essential nutrients to the land naturally.
To ensure that this innovation is effective, the so-called TERRAVITIS pilot trial acts as a testbed in three key wine-growing regions, guaranteeing that the results are practical and scalable. These regions are O Salnés (Pontevedra, Spain), Beja (Alentejo, Portugal), and Gaillac (Occitania, France), where in-person sessions have already been held with the sector to conduct a participatory survey.
The objective of this technical consultation is to identify critical challenges in the management and handling of soil and lignocellulosic residues generated on wine farms to guide the development of new technological solutions that, based on bio-refining processes, allow these resources to be valorized efficiently and aligned with the real needs of the stakeholders involved. All of this will contribute to improving the sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience of the entire production chain. “Direct dialogue with winegrowers and wineries is a key pillar for guiding scientific work toward the real needs of the territory,” says Juan José Villaverde, Senior Scientist at the Misión Biológica de Galicia-CSIC and coordinator of the Soil&WineResidues project. “This consultation process will make the advancements we develop more adoptable and better received by those who will use them. The technologies promoted by the project seek to improve soil health and quality and reinforce the climate resilience of the sector throughout southwest Europe.”
Call for online participation from the entire sector
To broaden the scope of the technical consultation to the sector, the Soil&WineResidues consortium requests the collaboration of winegrowers, winery managers, and agricultural technicians from throughout the SUDOE area (Spain, Portugal, southern France, and Andorra) through an anonymous online survey available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English. The data collected will be decisive for future soil management strategies and the use of the new products that will be developed. The survey only requires about 10 minutes and can be completed through this link: https://shorturl.at/zQYPd.
About Soil&WineResidues
Soil&WineResidues is a transnational cooperation project dedicated to the efficient management of resources in the wine sector and improving its sustainability. The consortium is composed of 15 beneficiary institutions and 92 associated entities that combine academic and technical excellence to ensure the long-term protection of European soils.
With a total budget of €1,766,964, the Soil&WineResidues project is co-financed by the Interreg Sudoe Program through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with €1,325,223.