{"id":2552,"date":"2023-11-02T14:58:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T14:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=2552"},"modified":"2023-11-02T14:58:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T14:58:09","slug":"vineyards-of-the-future-will-produce-more-than-wine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2552\/vineyards-of-the-future-will-produce-more-than-wine\/","title":{"rendered":"Vineyards of the future will produce more than wine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europe is seeking to use emissions and residues from winemaking for new products ranging from animal feed to antibiotic alternatives.<\/p>\n

By<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0Alex Whiting<\/p>\n

In Palmela, a wine region near Portugal\u2019s capital Lisbon, Miguel Cach\u00e3o is focused on an unusual aspect of the autumn harvest.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s developing a technology for wineries to capture carbon dioxide and use it to grow algae. The CO2, produced when grape juice ferments, can cultivate a nutrient-rich freshwater algae called chlorella that has uses in animal feed, cosmetics, food supplements and wine production.<\/p>\n

Economic, cultural motives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Winegrowers across Europe face twin squeezes from extreme weather caused by climate change and from heightened overseas competition. In Portugal, side income for the wine industry would also have cultural significance.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s such a big part of people\u2019s lives, so even if a vineyard isn\u2019t big or profitable, it\u2019s important for them to keep producing,\u2019 said Cach\u00e3o, an agronomic engineer at the Association of Wine Growers of the Municipality of Palmela.<\/p>\n

The Portuguese drink more wine per person than anyone else in the world, according to a\u00a02021 study<\/a>. Communities in the country have a strong bond with their local vineyards going back generations.<\/p>\n

The EU itself is the world\u2019s top producer of wine, accounting for\u00a0almost half<\/a> of global wine-growing areas in 2020.<\/p>\n

Portugal, with its renowned full-bodied Douro reds and fresh Vinho Verde whites,\u00a0ranks<\/a> as Europe\u2019s fifth-biggest wine producer.<\/p>\n

Finding an extra source of income could save wineries in Europe from closure.<\/p>\n

Algae profits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cach\u00e3o leads a research project that received EU funding to pioneer the technique of using CO2 to grow chlorella at wineries. Chlorella is a type of green algae whose photosynthetic qualities make it a source of food and energy. It\u2019s also rich in antioxidants useful for the cosmetics industry.<\/p>\n

Chlorella needs CO2, sunlight and water to grow. It converts sunlight into chemical energy needed to make carbohydrates, proteins and other compounds.<\/p>\n

The process could generate more than \u20ac15 million a year for a winery with annual volumes of at least 7 million litres of wine \u2013 the amount of a large European producer.<\/p>\n

It could also cut wine producers\u2019 greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 30%, according to the project. Called\u00a0REDWine<\/a>, it runs for four years until the end of April 2025 and is part of an initiative by the EU and industry called the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, or CBE JU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first demonstration unit will be ready at the end of 2023, according to Cach\u00e3o, who coordinates REDWine.<\/p>\n

It will be built about 100 metres from a local winery. A pipe will transport CO2 from the winery\u2019s grape-fermentation tanks to the unit for compression. The CO2 will then be liquefied for storage and be ready for use in growing chlorella.<\/p>\n

\u2018My hope is that we can show it\u2019s viable for wineries of all sizes \u2013 small, medium and large \u2013 to use,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Some wineries in Europe and elsewhere already capture CO2 and use it to protect their newly harvested grapes from oxidation, a process that can affect the final colour and aroma of wine. They also convert it into calcium carbonate to reduce the acidity of soil.<\/p>\n

Locked-in CO2<\/strong><\/p>\n

But with both of these processes, the CO2 ends up back in the atmosphere, according to Cach\u00e3o.<\/p>\n

\u2018The algae importantly locks the CO2 in,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

REDWine involves 12 companies and other organisations in six countries: France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.<\/p>\n

The participating companies include Algama, a French maker of foods from algae, and Spain-based Lipotec, a specialist in active ingredients for cosmetics.<\/p>\n

Skins and seeds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Other potentially useful elements in winemaking are the leftovers from pressed grapes: the skins, pulp and seeds.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re full of naturally occurring chemicals that protect the grapes from sun damage and pests.<\/p>\n

Grape skins, pulp and seeds offer the prospect of healthy alternatives to antibiotics.<\/p>\n

An EU-funded research project called\u00a0NeoGiANT<\/a> is developing natural therapies to help curb the use of antibiotics on animal and fish farms.<\/p>\n

The project reflects growing concerns that resistance to antibiotics in animals and people is growing as a result of overuse in livestock and aquaculture.<\/p>\n

\u2018Using them in healthy animals to prevent disease and infection \u2013 and not just as a treatment \u2013 has resulted in one of the biggest problems of our day: antibiotic resistance,\u2019 said Marta Lores, a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.<\/p>\n

Antibiotic substitutes<\/strong><\/p>\n

She coordinates NeoGiANT, which runs for four years through September 2025 and brings together universities, research institutes, farming representatives and companies from nine countries.<\/p>\n

Partners come from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Spain and \u2013 outside the EU \u2013 Argentina and the UK.<\/p>\n

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death, according to the\u00a0World Health Organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The NeoGiANT researchers are extracting antioxidants and eubiotics \u2013 additives that improve the gut health of animals \u2013 to use in feed. The goal is to make animals more resilient to infection and disease.<\/p>\n

\u2018We can extract this arsenal of compounds and make useful products from them,\u2019 said Lores.<\/p>\n

The grape waste is also yielding treatments for some of the most common animal diseases including mastitis \u2013 a mammary gland inflammation \u2013 in cows, post-weaning diarrhoea in pigs and a skin disease called exudative epidermitis in piglets. These are currently mainly treated using antibiotics.<\/p>\n

In addition, the project aims to substitute antibiotics for antimicrobial extracts in semen extenders. These are preservatives that prolong the life of semen collected for artificial insemination in livestock farming.<\/p>\n

If all these compounds are successful, 12 new products will be ready for market by the end of the project.<\/p>\n

Lores expects most of the planned products to be successful. But she said that, even if the total ends up being less than a dozen, the research effort will have been worthwhile.<\/p>\n

\u2018If only one of the products is marketed, that will mean fewer antibiotics used,\u2019 Lores said. \u2018In the end, all will benefit. The healthier the livestock, the healthier the food humans are eating.\u2019<\/p>\n

Research in this article was funded by the EU. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.<\/em><\/p>\n

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