Project funded under the second call of the Interreg Sudoe 2021–2027 Programme, code S2/2.7/E0319

The project will run for 36 months, from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2028. It falls under the programme priority focused on preserving natural capital and strengthening adaptation to climate change in the Sudoe territory.

Consortium

The RESILIENT VINES consortium comprises ten organisations from Spain, Portugal and France. It brings together research centres, universities, clusters, sectoral associations, producer organisations and public administrations, making it possible to address regenerative viticulture from scientific, business, territorial and institutional perspectives.

Fundació Parc Tecnològic del Vi, VITEC, Spain: Project coordinator. A technology centre specialising in viticulture and oenology, responsible for overall coordination and involved in defining indicators, experimental activities, validation of practices and assessment of their economic viability. It also participates in the Tarragona Living Lab.

University of the Balearic Islands, Institute of Agro-Environmental and Water Economy Research, INAGEA, Spain: A research centre with experience in viticulture, plant physiology, water management and crop adaptation to climate change. It leads the Mallorca Living Lab and coordinates the development of the training platform and curriculum on regenerative viticulture.

INNOVI, Catalan Wine Cluster, Spain: A cluster representing companies and stakeholders throughout the Catalan wine value chain. It leads the creation and implementation of the Sudoe Think Tanks, spaces for discussion and cooperation that will connect scientific results with the needs of the sector, public administrations and public policies.

Plataforma Tecnológica del Vino, PTV, Spain: A national organisation bringing together companies, research centres and organisations from the wine sector. It plays a prominent role in knowledge transfer, communication of project results and their dissemination among stakeholders in the Spanish wine sector.

Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Escola Superior Agrária, IPB-ESA, Portugal: A public research and education institution with expertise in soil conservation and health, biodiversity, water efficiency, crop protection and carbon sequestration. It coordinates the experimental work carried out in the Living Labs and the selection of sustainability, soil and biodiversity indicators. It also participates in the Trás-os-Montes and Douro pilot activities.

Bordeaux-Aquitaine Inno’vin, France: A wine cluster from Nouvelle-Aquitaine that connects companies, research centres and innovation stakeholders. It contributes to engaging the French wine sector, establishing the French Think Tank and transferring the results of the Cognac and Bordeaux Living Labs.

ADVID, Associação para o Desenvolvimento da Viticultura Duriense, Portugal: An association dedicated to modernising and improving the profitability of viticulture in the Douro region through training, technical assistance and innovation transfer. It participates in the Douro Living Lab, the Portuguese Think Tank and the preparation of recommendations for policymakers.

Comunidade Intermunicipal das Terras de Trás-os-Montes, CIM-TTM, Portugal: An association of municipalities representing the territorial interests of Trás-os-Montes. It facilitates the project’s connection with local and regional authorities and contributes to integrating the results into rural development strategies and territorial policies.

ADERA, through its VITINNOV unit, France: An organisation linked to research, innovation and technology transfer in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It leads the French pilot activities in Cognac and Bordeaux and participates in the assessment of regenerative practices, functional biodiversity and sustainable vineyard management.

APPITAD, Associação dos Produtores em Proteção Integrada de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal: A producers’ association specialising in integrated crop protection and sustainable crop management. It contributes to the practical implementation of regenerative techniques, farmer participation and the transfer of results in Portugal.

The project also includes associated partners representing designations of origin, wineries, public administrations and sectoral organisations. These include DO Montsant, DO Binissalem, the Comissão Vitivinícola Regional de Trás-os-Montes, Maison Martell, Vignerons Bio Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Vins Nadal, the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, VITIVISTA, the Consell Comarcal del Priorat, the Department of Agriculture of the Government of Catalonia and Casa José Luís Pedro.

Background

Viticulture in south-western Europe faces several challenges related to rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, drought periods, water stress, erosion, soil degradation and biodiversity loss.

Intensive agricultural practices have also contributed to reducing soil organic carbon stocks and increasing the consumption of water, fertilisers and plant protection products. This situation affects vineyard productivity, grape quality and the economic viability of farms.

At the same time, viticulture is of major economic, social and territorial importance in the Sudoe regions. It is closely connected to rural development, landscape maintenance, natural heritage conservation and the retention of population in rural areas.

Regenerative viticulture is proposed as an alternative that can restore soil functionality, increase biodiversity, improve water retention, reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides, and strengthen vineyards’ capacity to adapt to climate change.

Despite growing interest in these practices, there is still a lack of validated knowledge regarding their application in different soils and climatic conditions. RESILIENT VINES addresses this need by comparing results in areas with Mediterranean, continental and western maritime climates.

Objectives

The main objective of RESILIENT VINES is to validate, adapt and transfer the best regenerative viticulture practices across different soils and climates in the Sudoe territory, improving the sustainability, biodiversity and climate resilience of the wine sector.

The following specific objectives derive from this overall objective:

Create a transnational network of Living Labs to observe, monitor, demonstrate and validate regenerative vineyard management systems.

Identify sustainability indicators to measure soil quality and regeneration, functional biodiversity, carbon sequestration, resource use and the economic viability of the practices implemented.

Adapt regenerative practices to the Mediterranean, continental and western maritime conditions found across the Sudoe territory.

Reduce the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, as well as irrigation water consumption, through agroecological practices and innovative technological solutions.

Create three interconnected Think Tanks, one in Spain, one in Portugal and one in France, to facilitate discussion among producers, researchers, public administrations, companies and sectoral organisations.

Develop strategies, action plans, good-practice manuals and policy recommendations to support the adoption of regenerative viticulture.

Develop a digital training platform on agroecology and regenerative viticulture, including personalised learning pathways, multilingual content and micro-credentials.

Transfer the results to the wine sector as a whole and facilitate the replication of the validated solutions in other Sudoe territories.

Activities to be developed

The project will begin by selecting key performance indicators, or KPIs, to compare conventional and regenerative practices. These indicators will analyse factors such as soil compaction and structure, aggregate stability, carbon content, water retention, microbiology, diversity of beneficial arthropods, presence of pollinators, plant water status, grape quality and economic performance.

A network of six Living Labs will then be established in areas representing the main climatic conditions of the Sudoe territory:

Tarragona and Mallorca, representing Mediterranean climate conditions.

Trás-os-Montes and the Douro, representing continental climate conditions.

Cognac and Bordeaux, representing western maritime climate conditions.

These sites will test practices such as cover crops, reduced soil tillage, functional biodiversity management, improvement of soil microbiology and the use of technologies to optimise irrigation and reduce plant protection treatments.

The data collected will be used to validate and optimise integrated regenerative vineyard management techniques. Results will be compared across regions to identify which practices work best in each soil and climate context and under which conditions they can be transferred to other territories.

At the same time, a system of three interconnected Sudoe Think Tanks will be established. These spaces will bring together representatives from the production sector, research centres, designations of origin, public administrations, technology companies and territorial organisations. The Think Tanks will identify needs, discuss the results obtained through the Living Labs and prepare strategies, action plans and recommendations to support the adoption of regenerative viticulture. INNOVI will lead this process in collaboration with Inno’vin in France and ADVID in Portugal.

The project will also develop a new curriculum on regenerative viticulture. Its content will be defined through consultations with the sector and organised into modules linked to specific skills. Most of the training will be available online and will include self-assessment systems, personalised training pathways and micro-credentials compatible with the European Europass system.

Finally, good-practice manuals, training materials, economic viability reports, recommendations for policymakers and digital transfer resources will be prepared. Workshops, seminars, demonstration days and dissemination activities will also be organised to help winegrowers, technicians, companies, students and public administrations apply the knowledge generated.

The main expected results of RESILIENT VINES include a network of six Living Labs, four joint strategies or action plans, five solutions adopted or expanded by organisations, and a training platform that will maintain and scale up the knowledge generated beyond the duration of the project.