Hervé Alexandre of the University of Burgundy wins the ENOFORUM 2020 PRIZE
The selection process for the scientific papers candidates for the ENOFORUM 2020 AWARD, a competition dedicated to international research aimed at promoting dialogue between research and production in the wine sector, has concluded. In this edition of the international competition, 35 scientific papers from 21 research groups participated, of which 14 were selected by the Scientific Committee to be presented orally at Enoforum 2020.
The Spanish edition of Enoforum 2020 should have been held in Zaragoza from May 7 to 8, but the COVID-19 emergency forced the cancellation of the on-site congress. However, thanks to the experience in webinar organization matured by the Vinidea team in recent years, it has been possible to offer 12 hours of digital event with almost all the initially scheduled content, renouncing only the tasting sessions and exhibition spaces. The presentation of the selected candidates took place at Enoforum Web, the first virtual congress in the world of wine, which has had a wide resonance among the Spanish-speaking technicians to whom it was addressed, and which has achieved a great success of participation with more than 2000 registered participants.
The peculiarity of this recognition is the primordial role given to winegrowers and winemakers when defining the winners, after a previous selection phase by a qualified Scientific Committee constituted in 2020 by 47 scientists from the sector, of which 26 are Spanish, 15 European and 8 from non-European countries.
The prize was awarded to Hervé Alexandre of the Unité Mixte de Recherche Procédés Alimentaires et Microbiologiques (PAM), University of Burgundy (France), who presented the research “Bioprotection in oenology: a real alternative to sulfites?” together with co-authors Scott Simonin, Chloé Roullier-Gall, Jordi Ballester and Raphaëlle Tourdot-Maréchal.
The work, carried out between 2006 and 2009, studies the early addition of microorganisms such as yeasts and bacteria to harvested grapes or grape must prior to fermentation to allow the reduction of sulfite addition.
The finalists of the 2020 edition of the Enoforum Award, with the best scores received during the evaluation by the technicians, were in addition to the winner:
- Chitosan applications in vineyards and effects on gene expression – Rupesh Singh, Virgílio Falco, Isaura Castro, Fernanda Cosme, Ana A. Oliveira, Centro de Química de Vila Real, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal).
- Technology to recover and modulate the aroma lost during alcoholic fermentation – Lorenzo Guerrini, Alessandro Parenti, Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy)
- Measuring water potential: when, where and why – Luis Gonzaga Santesteban García, Universidad Pública de Navarra; Diego S. Intrigliolo, CEBAS-CSIC; José M. Mirás-Avalos, CITA-Aragón; José M. Escalona, Universidad Illes Balears; Amelia Montoro, ITAP-Albacete (Spain)
- Sanitization of wine grapes using Pulsed Light – Antonio Morata, Aitana Santamera, Iris Loira, María A. Bañuelos, Cármen González, ETSIAAB – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)
The official awards ceremony is scheduled within the program of the ENOMAQ 2021 congress, scheduled for February 9-11, 2021 at the Zaragoza Fair (Spain).
The videos of the Enoforum presentations will be published in the coming months in the internet magazine www.infowine.com.
The ENOFORUM PRIZE “research for development”.
is awarded on the basis of the assessment given by the sector’s technicians. The selection process includes three phases:
- Research abstracts submitted are evaluated anonymously by the Scientific Committee according to the criteria of “degree of innovation and interest of the subject matter”.
- The papers that receive the highest scores are included in the Enoforum program of presentations where the participating technicians evaluate them according to the criterion “usefulness for the development of wine production”. The five best-ranked papers make up the group of finalists.
- Scientific review: the manuscripts submitted by the finalists are reviewed by a panel of experts selected within the Scientific Committee, who evaluate the “scientific value” of the research.
The Enoforum 2020 Award is supported by Laboratorios Excell Ibérica S.L., a company created in 2008 in Logroño, La Rioja, thanks to the cooperation of well-known figures in the French and Spanish wine world. More than an analysis laboratory, Excell Ibérica delivers its expertise and advice to professionals in the wine and agri-food industry so that the final product is always up to the most demanding quality criteria of the market, guaranteeing greater success to the winery.
