Research at the Department of Enology

Project start: 01.01.2018
Project end: 31.12.2025

Project start: 17.06.2019
Project end: 31.05.2024
Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

The control of downy mildew, caused by Plasmopara viticola, is one of the major challenges in viticulture, especially in organic viticulture. Due to the ban of copper-containing pesticides and massive impacts of climate change, organic viticulture is increasingly entering an economic crisis. Therefore, the aim of the proposed joint project "VITIFIT" is to develop a catalogue of measures with practicable strategies for maintaining grapevine health. In this way, cultivation conditions are improved, the production security is consolidated and thus economic viability is guaranteed. Crop protection strategies will mainly be based on copper minimisation (microencapsulated copper salts) and copper substitutes (plant extracts, UVC technology) and their combination. Associated cultivation and cultural measures should reduce the inoculum potential of P. viticola. Molecular biological analyses will address the mycobiome of the vine leaf under these conditions. Particular attention should be paid to the plant protection agent potassium phosphonate. Existing and newly bred fungus tolerant grape varieties (in German: PIWIs) should play a central role in the developed action plans. Aims here are the improvement of the enological wine style, the market acceptance of PIWIs and their introduction into practice. The identification of new resistance loci against P. viticola and their integration into current breeding lines will support the development of novel PIWIs. Another focus of the project is the adaptation of the forecast model "VitiMeteo Rebenperonospora" to PIWIs. In the sector of knowledge and technology transfer, communication, the flow of information and networking between research and practice are to be optimised. The VITIFIT project should make a significant contribution to achieving the "20% goal" (national sustainability goal concerning the percentage of organic agriculture area).

Project start: 01.09.2020
Project end: 31.08.2023
Sponsor: Development agency for agribusiness

“Witality – Wine in Virtual Reality” is a collaborative research project between the scientific community and industry experts. Participating institutions are Hochschule Geisenheim University, Department of Enology, University of Applied Science Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Institute of Visual Computing, Pieroth Wein AG and DLG Test Service GmbH. The three year reserach project is funded by the Develpment Agency for Agribuiness. The partners are focusing on practice-oriented research on the use of virtual reality (VR) for sensory analysis of wine. The University of Applied Science Bonn-Rhein-Sieg will develop a special VR software to simulate typical locations for wine tastings, such as bars and wine shops. With smart glasses, consumers can immerse in these virtual realities. At the beginning of the project, Hochschule Geisenheim University will determine how olfactory and acoustic stimuli in VR affect the sensory evaluation of wine. To that end, the simulated situations are analyzed in comparison to an evaluation in a standardised evironment like sensory laboratories. In a next step, researchers will examine how the sensory evaluation of samples changes when they are consumed under different conditions (e.g. standard sensory laboratory, wine shop vs wine shop simulated in virtual reality). Pieroth Wein AG and DLG Testservice GmbH will test the usability of the smart glasses and software, too. The aim of the project is to provide a tool that can be used by various stakeholders in the wine industry for many different reserach questions and thus helps to open up new market segments and consumer groups.

Project start: 01.01.2021
Project end: 31.12.2021
Sponsor: German Academic Exchange Service

Wine is essential good in Caucasian countries, both economically and culturally. In recent years, the importance of the wine industry has risen sharply, primarily since a large part of wine production is exported. In this context, the attractive markets in European and non-European countries have become important export destinations in recent years. The high intensity of competition in these markets requires the secure application of economic principles. Due to the high prices of Caucasian wines, specialized trade, in particular, plays a prominent role as a distribution channel in export. For this reason, the focus of the summer school was expanded to include the topic of "specialized wine trade." Wine tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the wine sales in the Caucasus - referring to the promotion policy of the governments as well as the activities of the GIZ (Gesellschaft für die Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in the Caucasus. Following the importance, ' wine tourism' was taken up both as lectures and excursions.

Project start: 01.01.2020
Project end: 31.12.2020
Sponsor: German Academic Exchange Service

The academic program, comprising 25 well-balanced sessions with varying topics, has been put together by Geisenheim University. The first digital pan caucasian summer schoo "West Meets east" addressed several species, such as world wine markets, strategy, wine marketing, viticulture, and wine-growing in Germany, Armenia, and Georgia. The representatives of the leading wine institutions and industry experts from Germany, Georgia, and Armenia provided profound insights into the current developments in wine export, import, and consumption in these three countries. Furthermore, the uniqueness of Qvevri vinification was an integral session of the digital event.

Project start: 01.01.2018
Project end: 31.12.2019
Sponsor: uratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e.V.

Determining on a scientific basis why specific food and wine combinations are prefered by consumers and others not by using the food pairing and food completing theory.