The South African Grape and Wine Research Institute (SAGWRI) at Stellenbosch University and the Joint Research Unit Sciences for Oenology (SPO) in Montpellier, France, are establishing the MICROWISE International Associated Laboratory to assist the wine industry in overcoming its current global crisis. It is estimated that winemaking originated in the Near-East about 10,000 years ago and slowly expanded towards Western Europe before reaching all inhabited continents. Over the millennia, it has faced numerous crises including countless wars, the phylloxera pandemics, and the American prohibition, to name a few, but this resilient industry has managed to overcome them all, thanks to its willingness to reinvent itself. Indeed, while deeply rooted in tradition, winemaking has been one of the most researched food-related industries, especially over the past 170 years. Nevertheless, this resilient industry is currently facing one of its most serious crises fueled by various factors including climate change, international competition, the COVID pandemic, and societal changes such as health concerns, changes in consumers’ drinking habits and tastes, as well as certain defiance towards the production process (e.g. use of additives).

SAGWRI and SPO have a long history of conducting research in wine microbiology (amongst other related fields). They share a common vision to address the current challenges experienced by the wine sector and bring complementary expertise, research platforms and facilities. They believe that wine microorganisms can assist the wine industry in overcoming its current crisis. Indeed, MICROWISE aims to elucidate the microbial biodiversity associated with the broader wine environment in response to climate change, to characterise their interactions and to understand how their biochemical, metabolic and enzymatic potential can be used to propose novel sustainable winemaking practices. It will achieve its goals through three approaches: ecological, physiological and biochemical.

MICROWISE will expand from a very fruitful collaboration initiated ten years ago that has already benefited ten postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows and generated nine scientific articles amongst other research outputs. MICROWISE will be a laboratory without walls and without a legal personality. It will provide a framework for high-level scientific cooperation on the aforementioned joint research programme. Key initiatives will include organising joint scientific events, developing collaborative research programs (in particular by jointly responding to funding calls), and facilitating the exchange of expertise, equipment, know-how, protocols, data, and ideas between the two teams. It will also facilitate the mobility of postgraduate students and staff, through short research internships and formal co-supervisions with or without a cotutelle agreement.

We trust that this exciting research initiative will not only benefit the wine industry but also the participating students, academics and support staff.

For more information, please contact the coordinators: Prof Benoit Divol at SAGWRI (divol@sun.ac.za) and Dr Carole Camarasa at SPO (carole.camarasa@inrae.fr).