VinAE

VinAE – Vineyards network for co-creation and expansion of AgroEcological strategies to face viticulture challenges: a basis for cross-borders living labs.

VinAE proposes the creation of a pilot network of wineries applying agroecological practices located in five of the main European grape and wine producing countries: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Turkey. The pilot farms are situated in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Anatolian biogeographical regions, encompassing a wide range of edaphoclimatic, topographic and landscape conditions. This collaborative strategy is particularly valuable in the context of climate change, as knowledge generated across this gradient of climatic diversity can be extremely important when facing adverse and anomalous events.

Moreover, the information currently available on AgroEcological (AE) practices often derives from partial analyses of their agronomic, environmental and socio-economic impacts, conducted in scattered and isolated experiences. The multidisciplinary expertise of the partners (winegrowers and researchers specialized in agronomy, environmental sciences, biodiversity, and social and economic sciences) will enable a comprehensive assessment of AE practices in vineyards, addressing a wide range of scenarios and challenges.

The project proposes the use of already tested biotechnological tools (e.g., hydrogels, bioinoculants) as well as alternative approaches (e.g., biofumigants) to maximize the performance of agroecological solutions. The comprehensive evaluation of AE practices will include the analysis of vine yield, must quality, plant water relations, soil carbon storage and stabilization, and soil microbial diversity and soil fauna (with particular attention to pathogenic species). The proposal aims to define the benefits of AE practices for vineyard biodiversity and for the balanced nutritional status of grape clusters, which are important factors for improving pest and disease management. Finally, the project will also explore the feasibility and identify the barriers to the widespread adoption of AE practices.