Enoforum 2023 competition: an all-female podium

An Italian researcher, Dr Paola Bambina from the University of Palermo, is the winner of the First Prize at the 2023 edition of Enoforum Web Scientists, which was attended by 37 researchers from 9 countries, selected out of more than 100 candidate works by a Scientific Committee: The winning work is entitled: “Effect of soil chemical-physical parameters on the polyphenolic and volatile composition of Nero d’Avola red wines”.

In second place we find Francisca Isabel Bravo of the University of Tarragona with her work entitled ‘Valorisation of wine lees to produce antihypertensive agents’, and in third place, rounding off an all-female podium, Paola Domizio of the University of Florence with “‘Inactivated Schizosaccharomyces japonicus: a novel bio-adjuvant for wine protein stability”.

The first, second and third place winners will receive prize money of € 3,000, € 2,000 and € 1,000 respectively.
The 4th to 10th runners-up are offered reimbursements for attendance at the Macrowine or IVAS conferences to be held in 2023 and 2024.

Below is the ranking of the 10 award-winning works in this edition:

1. Effect of soil chemical-physical parameters on the polyphenolic and volatile composition of Nero d’Avola red wines
   Paola Bambina, University of Palermo
2. Valorization of wine lees to produce antihypertensive agents
   Francisca Isabel Bravo, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain)
3. Inactivated Schizosaccharomyces japonicus: a novel bio-adjuvant for wine protein stability
   Paola Domizio, University of Florence
4. Production of polysaccharides and antioxidant compounds by non-Saccharomyces yeast strains after growth and induced lysis
   Sabrina Voce, University of Udine
5. Berry aroma compounds are jointly modulated by deficit irrigation and rootstock in “Merlot” and “Sangiovese” grapevines
   Giacomo Palai, University of Pisa
6. Organoleptic and freshness improvement with the use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in white wines from warm climates
   Carlos Escott, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (Spain)
7. Innovative method for 2,4,6-TCA non-destructive screening of wine cork stoppers below the perception threshold at world-leading speed of 2 seconds
   Luca Cappellin, University of Padua
8. The wine is “naked”: Flint glass bottles cause wine aroma identity degradation
   Silvia Carlin,Edmund Mach Foundation
9. Protein extracts of Andean pseudocereals as alternative fining agents for red wines
   Liudis Pino, University of Talca (Chile)
10. Oxygen transfer and wine aging: the crucial role of the glass-cork interface
    Julie Chanut, University Bourgogne Franche Comté, UMR PAM Dijon (France)

The online conference, held on Monday 13 March 2023, was attended by over 2,400 professionals from 66 different countries, with peaks of almost 1,000 simultaneous attendees during the more than 6 hours of broadcasting, thanks also to the simultaneous translation into Italian, French and Spanish of the lectures, which were all delivered in English.

Enoforum Web Scientists aims to disseminate the latest results of worldwide grapevine and wine research, not only within the academic community but also among stakeholders in the wine industry who are otherwise not very likely to learn about it through scientific journals and congresses.

After a preliminary selection process by an international Scientific Committee of viticulture and oenology experts, 37 papers were presented in a flash talk format, focusing on practical results: all participants had the opportunity to evaluate the papers in real time according to the criterion: ‘potential benefits for wine production’.

The top-ranked researchers will be invited to present their work in a more expanded form at the various Enoforum conferences to be held over the next two years, starting with Enoforum Italia to be held from 16 to 18 May 2023 in Vicenza.

The papers presented covered a wide range of innovative topics for the wine industry, such as efficient water management for vineyard irrigation, the application of mechanical selective harvesting, a new digital tool for training in vine pruning, the use of yeast derivatives in winemaking, new methods for wine stabilisation, oxidative and aromatic stability of wines, and many others.

All recordings, including the extended versions, will be available in the internet magazine Infowine (www.infowine.com).

Enoforum Web Scientists is organised by VINIDEA, an Italian company specialising in the provision of training for wine professionals, and sponsored by the OIV (Organizzazione Internazionale del Vino e della Vite); It also enjoys the collaboration of several other scientific organisations: OENOVITI INTERNATIONAL, IVES (International Viticulture and Enology Society), IFV (Institut Français du Vin), PTV (Plataforma Tecnologica del Vino), GIENOL (Grupos de Investigación Enológica), SIVE (Società Italiana di Viticoltura ed Enologia), AWRI (Australian Wine Research Institute), SASEV (South African Society of Enology and Viticulture), DLG-Akademie (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft).

Thanks to the support of OENOPPIA (Oenological Products and Practices International Association), SIMEI-UIV (Salone Internazionale Macchine per Enologia e Imbottigliamento – Unione Italiana Vini), ASSOENOLOGI (Associazione Enologi Enotecnici Italiani) e Laboratorios Excel Ibérica it was possible to allow free participation in the conference and offer simultaneous translation.