OIV Research Grant Program

Short-term research grants

Within the framework of developing its Strategic Plan, the OIV may grant research scholarships in priority programme fields on a yearly basis. Grants attributed within the framework of this programme are short term (six months to fifteen months maximum with a maximum amount of € 15 000) and are provided for specific post graduate training programmes. Targeted candidates must be highly qualified, with the desire to pursue their research, their further knowledge and keep up on the latest progress made in their field of study and/or work.

3 years research grants

These research grants are made possible for the first time through matched funding of the OIV and the consortium of international companies.
You have a Research and Development project, you wish to explore or improve an area of scientific competence compatible with the priority themes of the OIV, you can benefit from a research grant over 3 years for a maximum amount of €50,000 over 3 years. the actors involved:

• The OIV, which signs an Agreement with the scholarship holder and the company,

• A higher university degree holder wishing to undertake, or pursue, doctoral, post-doctoral studies, or other research; recruited for a period of 3 years. It cannot be an employee of the company.

• One or several research centers of member companies of the Consortium, if needed

• An academic research laboratory associated with a doctoral school which will host and supervise the grant holder for the academic part of the work and to which the supervisor is attached.

Research grants have to meet the following three principles:

a) Systemic approach: works to be funded must privilege a holistic view of grape and wine operations together with the natural ecosystems where they occur,
b) Vision of the whole value chain: works to be funded must address the whole value chain, linking sustainable production with sustainable consumption,
c) Transformative of production systems: works to be funded must clearly propose progress towards the UN SDGs.

Priority themes for 2022 research grants

This year, special attention will be given to:

1. Conservation and Sustainable Management of Biodiversity and Ecosystems in Transitioning to a Nature-Positive Grape and Wine Value Chain

2. Sustainable management and adaptation to climate change.

3. Living and Healthy soils in viticulture

Priority topics according to the 3 research areas:

1.  Vineyard soil regeneration and sustainable management in the vineyard   agroecosystem

2.  Development, test and evaluation of relevant biodiversity indicators for application at vineyard-scale and wine region landscape management (soil management)

3. Methodologies and key indicators of CO2 storage capacity in vineyard soils (mitigation).

4. Reduction and new alternatives/approaches to reduce the traditional phytosanitary products (Cu, Biostimulants, other).

other important topics:

•  Inventory, study, and conservation of genetic resources and genotypes of the ancient varieties and old vines.

•  Study of new techniques to fight diseases and their vectors on grapevines: use of virus against viral attack, physical treatments, resistance to the jaundice, sustainable management against cicadelle.

• Tolerant varieties to fight against abiotic stress conditions.

• Sustainable water consumption in table grape production and hydric/water footprint in the vine and wine sector.

• Regenerative production on vine and wine sector

• Costs/financial aspects in the transition to better soil health and carbon sequestration by vineyard soils.

• Evaluation of sustainability (product cost analysis) and economic performance of agro-environmental policies taking into account the concepts of natural capital, biodiversity, environment, carbon sequestration, etc.

• Environmental certification comparison in the vine and wine sector

• New challenges, opportunities and competitive/organizational models in the vine and wine sector: ecological and digital transition, chain logistics and international trade,

• Sustainable wine tourism as key player in preserving and promoting (viticultural landscape) human, social and cultural values.

• Study of energy-saving in the fermentation process

• Studies on products and subproducts of non Saccharomyces yeast

• New techniques for the recovery and the exploitation of the by-products from the wine industry.

• Managing instabilities in wine (Ca2+ instability, mannoproteins)

• Reduction of sulphur dioxide at the technological and microbiological levels ("minimal intervention wines", Wines without added SO2).

• Development and validation of analytical methods for quantifying the addition of exogenous water to grape juice, must, or wine and how new technologies can influence in those analysis.

• Contaminants, toxins and additives (in particular zinc, aluminium, etc.)

• Assess the health risks of phytosanitary product residues

• Health effects or biological effects of wine or novel grape’s products consumption (review of literature, mechanisms of action, clinical experiments …)

• Nutritional and health benefits of table grape, dried grapes and juice consumption

• Changes in consumption habits and consumers' perceptions : nutritional, health warning labelling and/or alternatives certified products