An Italian researcher, Paola Bambina from the University of Palermo, is the winner of the First Prize in the 2023 edition of Enoforum Web Scientists, an event in which 37 researchers from 9 countries participated, selected from more than 100 candidate papers by an International Scientific Committee. The winning paper is entitled “Effect of the chemical-physical parameters of the soil on the polyphenolic and volatile composition of red wines obtained from Nero d’Avola”.

In second place, we find Francisca Isabel Bravo from the University of Tarragona with the work entitled “Valorization of wine lees for the elaboration of antihypertensives” and, in third place, to complete an all-female podium, Paola Domizio from the University of Florence with the work Schizosaccharomyces japonicus inactivated: a new bioadjuvant for the protein stabilization of wines”.

The first, second and third place winners will receive a cash prize of €3,000, €2,000 and €1,000 respectively.
Researchers ranked from 4th to 10th place will be offered a reimbursement for their participation in the Macrowine or IVAS congresses scheduled in 2023 and 2024.

The ranking of the 10 winning entries in this edition is as follows:

1. Effect of soil physico-chemical parameters on the polyphenolic and volatile composition of Nero d’Avola red wines
   Paola Bambina, Università degli Studi di Palermo
2. Valorization of wine lees for the elaboration of antihypertensives
   Francisca Isabel Bravo, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain)
3. Schizosaccharomyces japonicus inactivado: un nuevo bioadyuvante para la estabilidad proteica del vino
   Paola Domizio, University of Florence
4. Production of polysaccharides and antioxidant compounds by non-Saccharomyces yeast strains after growth and induced lysis
   Sabrina Voce, Università degli studi di Udine
5. Aromatic compounds in grapes are jointly modulated by deficit irrigation and rootstock in Merlot and Sangiovese varieties
   Giacomo Palai, Università di Pisa
6. Organoleptic and freshness improvement with the use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in white wines from warm climates
   Carlos Escot, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (Spain)
7. Innovative method for non-destructive screening of 2,4,6-TCA in cork stoppers below the threshold of perception at a record speed of 2 seconds
   Luca Cappellin, Università degli Studi di Padova
8. Wine is “naked”: flint glass bottles degrade the identity of the wine’s aroma
   Silvia Carlin, Fondazione Edmund Mach
9. Protein extracts from Andean pseudocereals as alternative fining agents for red wines
   Liudis Pino, University of Talca (Cile)
10. Oxygen transfer and wine aging: the crucial role of the glass-cork interface
    Julie Chanut, University Bourgogne Franche Comté, UMR PAM Dijon (France)

More than 2,400 professionals from 66 different countries attended the online conference, held on Monday, March 13, 2023, with peaks of almost 1,000 participants at the same time during the more than 6 hours of broadcasting, thanks also to the simultaneous translation into Italian, French and Spanish of all the presentations, which were given in English.

Enoforum Web Scientists aims to disseminate the most recent results of worldwide research on grapevine and wine not only within the academic community but also among wine industry stakeholders who are not usually aware of them as they are only available through scientific journals and academic congresses.

Thanks to a preliminary selection work by an international Scientific Committee made up of experts in viticulture and enology, 37 papers were presented in flash talk format, focusing on the practical results of the research. Then, during the event, 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 more widely during the various Enoforum congresses that will take place over the next two years, starting with Enoforum Italy, to be held May 16-18, 2023 in Vicenza, followed by Enoforum Spain and Enoforum USA in 2024.

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 vine training pruning, the use of yeast derivatives in winemaking, new methods to stabilize wine, oxidative and aromatic stability of wines, and many others.

All the recordings of the presentations, including the more extensive presentations made at the on-site Enoforums, will soon be available in the Infowine Internet magazine (www.infowine.com).

Enoforum Web Scientists is organized by VINIDEA, an Italian company specialized in the training of professionals in the wine sector, and sponsored by the OIV (International Organization of Wine and Vine); it also counts on the collaboration of many other scientific organizations: OENOVITI INTERNATIONAL, IVES (International Viticulture and Enology Society), IFV (Institut Français du Vin), PTV (Wine Technology Platform), GIENOL (Enological Research Groups), SIVE (Società Italiana de Viticultura e 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) and Laboratorios Excel Ibérica it was possible to allow free participation in the congress and provide simultaneous translation.