Proposal submitted under the European Union's Erasmus+ programme, as part of the 2026 call for Cooperation Partnerships in Vocational Education and Training (KA220-VET).
Funding requested: €400,000.
The INNOWINE consortium comprises eight organisations from six European countries: Italy, Spain, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. The project brings together universities, vocational education and training centres, organisations specialising in innovation and digitalisation, rural development networks and businesses from the wine sector. This collaboration combines scientific knowledge with practical expertise in production, education and commercial activities.
The project is coordinated by the University of Foggia (Italy).
The participating organisations are:
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FOGGIA (Italy) – Coordinating organisation.
CULTUM (Italy).
ASSOCIACIO AEI INNOVI (AGRUPACIO EMPRESARIAL INNOVADORA) (Spain).
Albanian Network for Rural Development (Albania).
ERGASIA EKPAIDEFTIKI ANONYMI ETAIRIA (Greece).
DISTRETTO AGROALIMENTARE REGIONALE SCRL (Italy).
Професионална гимназия по екология и биотехнологии "Проф. д-р Асен Златаров" (Bulgaria).
Amico del Vino (Netherlands).
The European wine sector is undergoing a transformation driven by changing consumer habits and growing interest in wines with reduced or no alcohol content. This trend presents an opportunity to diversify product ranges, explore new markets and develop products that respond to consumer preferences.
However, the production and marketing of dealcoholised wines present technical, environmental and commercial challenges. Dealcoholisation processes must preserve product quality and sensory characteristics while seeking to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. At the same time, businesses need to improve traceability, communicate product characteristics transparently and adapt their marketing strategies.
These challenges are compounded by a lack of specialised training and digital tools tailored to the needs of this emerging segment. This situation is particularly relevant for small businesses, cooperatives and professionals in rural areas, which often have fewer resources to adopt new technologies and acquire new knowledge.
INNOWINE builds on the European WINOVATE project, which addressed innovation and vocational training in the non-alcoholic wine sector. Drawing on this experience, INNOWINE aims to expand existing knowledge and develop educational, technological and collaborative tools to support a more sustainable and digital transition of the dealcoholised wine value chain.
The overall objective of INNOWINE is to promote sustainable innovation and digital transformation across the non-alcoholic wine value chain through the development of technical knowledge, digital tools and training resources. The project aims to strengthen professional skills, facilitate the adoption of more sustainable production practices and improve the competitiveness of European wine businesses.
The specific objectives are to:
Analyse wine production and dealcoholisation technologies, their environmental impacts and market trends to identify opportunities for improvement and respond to the needs of producers and consumers.
Promote more sustainable practices in production processes by encouraging energy efficiency, responsible resource management and lower-impact packaging solutions.
Develop specialised and accessible training resources to update the skills of producers, technicians, trainers and vocational education and training students.
Support digitalisation and transparency across the value chain through traceability tools, smart labels and new resources for communication, marketing and wine tourism.
Validate the solutions developed in real-world settings, fostering collaboration between businesses, training centres and local stakeholders to facilitate the transfer and long-term use of project results.
INNOWINE will combine applied research, the development of digital resources and vocational education and training with demonstration and testing activities across different European regions. The project is structured into five work packages, covering the entire process from identifying sector needs to validating solutions and disseminating results.
The main planned activities are:
Project coordination and monitoring (WP1). Manage cooperation between participating organisations, oversee the implementation of activities and ensure the quality of project results.
Technical and market analysis of non-alcoholic wine (WP2). Study dealcoholisation technologies, quality parameters, environmental impacts and consumer preferences in the participating countries. The knowledge gained will be compiled into comparative reports and a European reference handbook for producers, technicians and trainers.
Development of digital tools and training resources (WP3). Create a range of tools to support digitalisation and innovation in the sector, including a smart label toolkit using QR and NFC technologies, a sustainable packaging guide and a digital communication and wine tourism handbook. An online training course (MOOC) will also be developed through the EduOpen platform, alongside an interactive simulator allowing users to practise decision-making in scenarios related to non-alcoholic wine production, sustainability and marketing.
Workshops, experimentation and regional validation (WP4). Organise practical workshops involving producers, technicians, trainers and students to test the resources developed. Activities will focus on designing and validating smart label prototypes, applying digital and sustainable solutions in businesses, and adapting materials for vocational education and training programmes. Strategies tailored to the needs of the participating regions will also be developed. INNOVI will lead this work package, facilitating the involvement of Catalan wine businesses and the validation of tools in real production environments.
Dissemination, cooperation and long-term use of results (WP5). Establish a European collaboration network bringing together producers, training centres and other sector stakeholders, while facilitating access to the training materials and digital resources developed. Activities will include communication initiatives, dissemination events and a final conference. A sustainability plan will also be prepared to support the continued use and updating of project results after its completion.
Ea sit quaeque consulatu, nam causae nonumes in, ne sea graeci quidam pericula. Id eius scriptorem sit, affert ridens ea eam, no est illum instructior. Cu veri gubergren appellantur vis. Te summo facilisi constituto qui, ad mundi nemore causae pro. Equidem euripidis at vis, mundi intellegat quaerendum ex sit, ea nusquam fierent mea.
Ea pro nisl adhuc consequat. Mei at posse graecis epicurei, novum causae erroribus usu no, ne ubique praesent scribentur quo. Ea vis quod labitur sapientem, qui te putant laoreet sententiae, alii velit vidisse eam ex. Eum ut idque soluta diceret.
Comments