WINES: Strengthening the Resilience and Competitiveness of the Global Wine Industry
WINES is a four-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges project tackling the key challenges facing the global wine industry. The project brings together 19 universities, 21 non-academic partners and more than 100 researchers from 11 countries to develop innovative and sustainable solutions. Together, the partners will explore how the wine industry can adapt to climate change, changing consumer preferences and global market developments. The project will also focus on wine tourism and hospitality, as well as diversity and gender equality.
Funding and coordination
- Funding programme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges (MSCA SE)
- Project budget: Approximately €1.6 million
- Project coordination: Institute of Development Research and Development Policy, Ruhr-University Bochum
- NHL Stenden researchers: Dr Radu Mihailescu & Dr David Proctor
Background
The global wine industry faces growing challenges, from climate change and shifting consumer preferences to market saturation and changing economic and regulatory conditions. Consumers are increasingly interested in health, sustainability and new sensory experiences, requiring wine producers to rethink their production methods, business models and market strategies.
Addressing these challenges requires international cooperation and knowledge exchange. WINES brings together partners from established wine-producing regions, often referred to as the ‘Old World’, and emerging wine markets in the ‘New World’. By sharing knowledge and comparing approaches, the partners aim to strengthen the wine industry's ability to adapt and remain competitive.
The challenge
Many existing approaches to the wine industry's environmental, economic and social challenges are developed in isolation. There is a need to understand which solutions work in practice, whether they can be applied more widely and how sustainable they are in the long term.
WINES will investigate how wine-producing regions can respond to climate change, changing consumer expectations, international trade and regulation, tariffs and market competition. It will also explore new business models, sustainable wine tourism and ways to improve diversity and gender equality across the sector.
Project team
The WINES consortium consists of 19 universities, 21 non-academic partners and more than 100 researchers from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and South Africa.
Dr Radu Mihailescu and Dr David Proctor represent NHL Stenden and lead two project tasks. Through international staff exchanges, the consortium will encourage collaboration between researchers and industry partners, support innovation and share knowledge across disciplines and countries. The project will also create opportunities for students to engage with research activities.
Approach
WINES combines international research, staff exchanges and collaboration between academic and non-academic partners. Researchers will compare and evaluate strategies for adapting to climate change, assessing their feasibility, scalability and sustainability.
The project will also investigate consumer preferences, global market developments, trade and regulations, branding and geographical indications. Other research activities focus on innovative business models, sustainable wine tourism and hospitality, cultural landscapes, biodiversity, diversity and gender equality.
By bringing these perspectives together, WINES aims to develop practical approaches that wine-producing regions and businesses can use to respond to changing conditions.
Results
WINES will deliver scientific insights and practical recommendations across four areas:
- Climate change and consumers: Climate-resilience models, vineyard suitability maps, varietal performance data and assessments of adaptation strategies.
- Markets and trade: Research into global competition, international trade, branding, regulations and innovative business models.
- Wine tourism and hospitality: Recommendations for sustainable tourism, regional development, cultural landscapes and biodiversity.
- Diversity and gender: Insights and recommendations to support a more inclusive wine industry.
Other outputs will include policy briefs, guidelines, training materials, workshops, databases and open-access scientific publications.
Ultimately, WINES aims to strengthen international research collaboration and help the wine industry become more sustainable, inclusive and resilient.
Partners
Academic:
Industry:
Links and publications
A part of the consortium recently met during the 5th annual meeting of the European Association of Wine Economists (EuAWE). The meeting provided an opportunity to begin networking and discuss the next steps for the project.
Follow WINES and receive the latest updates via the project's LinkedIn page
