The purpose of Oenovation proposal refers to the acqusition of
scientific knowledge through fruitful collaborations of various scientific
specializations belonging but not limited to the applied microbial biochemistry
and biotechnology, wine microbiology, plant pathology, wine-making and
molecular biotechnology. Moreover, the ultimate and final scope of Oenovation
refers to the implementation of wine-making enterprises in order to produce
high quality Greek standardized wine, based on completely local resources (i.e.
original Greek cultivars, localy isolated and identified yeast species, etc)
which will highlight the particular organoleptic qualities of the product and
gain a distinct market position. The acqusition of scientific knowledge will
result from a thorough inventory of the natural (“wild”) microflora,
which has already been isolated and characterized or will be isolated within
the framework of the current proposal and will be related to the spontaneous
vinification process. Finally, this knowledge will lead to a global
understanding of the processes (biochemical, microbial, eco-physiological, etc)
that exist at all stages of the winemaking production chain: field, harvesting,
fermentation, aging, standardization, maintenance and distribution of the final
product.
The thorough biochemical and physiological study of the natural Greek
microflora (FEM), which is involved in vinification, is therefore the central
target for this project. Following the studies that will take place through the
Oenovation project, and at its final stage, the Greek natural microflora, will
be used in experimental and large-scale vinification processes in order to
ultimately produce high quality Greek standardized wine. On the other hand, in
the context of bioeconomy, sustainability and development of eco-friendly and
“green” processes, isolates of natural yeast strains will also be studied in
relation with their potential of plant protection properties concerning several
important pathogens of the vine (eg Botrytis cinerea). Therefore, a potential
use of lyophilized yeast population that would be sprayed on the vine prior to
harvest in order to present protection against pathogens, while it would
accelerate the fermentation process after grape harvest, would be envisaged
through Oenovation proposal.
At the same time, studies and approaches will be carried out in relation with
the aromatic compounds and other characteristics of the produced wines, while
micro-vinifications in large-scale laboratory experiments will be carried out
in order for the evaluation of the previously selected yeast strains. The
results will be evaluated in wine tasting panels so that at the end of the
program, beyond the large scale production of new wines produced by purely
Greek yeast strains and purely Greek raw materials implicated, there will be a
complete and comprehensive overview concerning technological and organoleptic
characteristics of the produced wines.
Finally, as the program aims to its direct link to the markets, with the
participation of wine-making facilities, market trends on the use of wild Greek
yeasts will be explored by realizing questionnaires to 15 wineries of different
caspacities.