Reyneke Wines joins consortium to secure EU funding for pioneering wine research

Funding from the EU Horizon Europe Programme will be invested in pioneering research, advanced doctoral training and public communication around novel approaches to wine-making. Named ‘Eco2Wine’, the project will kick off at the end of 2023, with joint funding of approximately €2.4 million over four years. 

The science objective of the Eco2Wine project is to harness the microbial interactions that occur during wine-making as tools for innovation. In doing so, the aim is to produce natural, eco-friendly wines, while improving vineyard management and giving consumers more wine choices. In addition, ten pHd graduates will be training via this project. 

Reyneke Wines owner, Johan Reyneke, says that as an organic and biodynamic farmer he’s proud to be a part of the consortium. “Around 7 years after converting our vineyards back in 2000 we noticed a change in the fruit profile of our grapes. There were significant differences in taste, within single vineyards, that we hadn’t experienced before. Some people postulated that these were due to micro climatic differences in the bunch zone. We had stopped fertilising and the vines grew differently due to differences in soil potential creating more, or less, shade in the bunch zone. Others postulated that just like the human gut microbiome has an impact on humans’ overall sense of wellbeing, so the vines were benefiting from greater levels and diversity of soil microbes. The effects were dramatic and we’re excited to have proper scientific research helping to clarify the benefits of organic, biodynamic and regenerative agriculture,” says Reyneke. 

Coordinated by the University of Milan, the Eco2Wine consortium partner institutes are located in wine-growing countries, including Italy, Germany, France, Georgia, Spain, Slovenia and South Africa. The participating universities are the University of Milan; the Université de Bourgogne; Hochschule Geisenheim University; the Georgian Technical University; the University of Perugia; the University of Ljubljana; the University of Cádiz and Stellenbosch University, as well as the Spanish National Research Council.

In each country, several vineyards and wine industry partners are also involved. These include: the National Wine Agency of Georgia; Miguel Torres SA (Spain); Fundacion Rioja Salud (Spain); Winetech (South Africa); Parsec (Italy); Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (Italy); SICAREX Beaujolais Société (France); Azienda Agricola Ferghettina (Italy); Wine Company Shumi Ltd (Georgia), Petrič Winery (Slovenia); and Reyneke Wines.

Reyneke Wines is a certified Organic and Biodynamic farm and winery located in the Polkadraai Hills of Stellenbosch. Reyneke Wines is currently the only Demeter certified Biodynamic wine farm in the country and boasts many international accolades for both its methods and the wine themselves.