European Wine Sector united in the LIGAWINE Project

EUROPEAN WINE INDUSTRY WORKING TOGETHER FOR A MORE RESILIENT FUTURE: THE EU-FUNDED PROJECT LIGAWINE (Low Input Grapegrowing and Winemaking) HAS STARTED

The kick-off meeting for the LIGAWINE (Low Input Grapegrowing and Winemaking) project was held on October 30th and 31st 2025, in Bordeaux, France. Funded by the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) program, this 39-month project aims to propel the wine sector toward sustainable, innovative, and economically resilient practices across Europe.

Coordinated by INNOVI (ES), the project brings together 20 partners from 14 different European regions across 5 countries. With a total budget of €6.42 million, including €4.82 million co-financed by the European Union, the project aims to address today’s sustainability challenges. Indeed, European viticulture needs to evolve: to strengthen resilience, lower the use of inputs, and increase the use of new technologies in the vineyard and winery.

The LIGAWINE consortium includes clusters, universities, technology suppliers, and wineries from Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Greece (EL), and Portugal (PT):
INNOVI (ES), INNO’VIN (FR), ATE Cluster (EL), VINIDEA SRL (IT), Reframe Food (EL), INCAVI (ES), the Universities of Padova (IT) and Napoli Federico II (IT), Mercier Frères (FR), Elicit Plant (FR), E. Vila Projects (ES), Talptech (ES), Enartis (IT), PARSEC Enologia (IT), ONAFIS (FR), Enodoro (IT), APPITAD (PT), Cantina di Dolianova (IT), Viñedos del Río Tajo (ES), Enric Regull (ES).

This collective brings together expertise in viticulture, plant science, digital agriculture, and winemaking processes to ensure the project’s technologies are tested, validated, and deployed in real conditions.

The LIGAWINE project will focus on three main actions:

• Implementing 8 large-scale investments in different European wine regions: new disease-resistant vines, biocontrol and biostimulant solutions, digital tools for vineyard protection and management, energy efficiency winery technologies, and innovative winemaking methods.
• Identifying and proposing additional solutions through Financial Support to Third Parties, allowing for 24 complementary projects. Notably, 70% of these investments and supporting projects will be directed to less developed innovation regions, helping to reduce disparities and foster equitable growth across European wine-growing areas.
• Creating innovation beacons to connect regional industry needs and to foster collaboration among the different regions.

The LIGAWINE project is split into six work packages:

• WP1 Project management and coordination – INNOVI
• WP2 Interregional dimension – INNO’VIN
• WP3 Large-scale vineyard investments: Vineyard innovation through the implementation of sustainable solutions in vineyards – INNO’VIN
• WP4 Large-scale winery investments: fostering innovation and testing technologies in wineries – VINIDEA
• WP5 Open Call (Financial support to third parties) for supporting innovation acceleration in the wine sector – Reframe Foods
• WP6 Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation – VINIDEA

Through its collaborative, interregional approach, LIGAWINE aims to accelerate the transition toward a more sustainable, innovative, and resilient European wine sector. By combining large-scale field investments, cross-border knowledge exchange, and targeted support for emerging solutions, the project will enable wine regions of all levels of development to benefit from cutting-edge practices and technologies. Over the next 39 months, LIGAWINE’s consortium of experts, clusters, research institutions, suppliers, and wineries will work together to demonstrate how low-input viticulture and winemaking can strengthen both environmental performance and long-term competitiveness—helping to shape a more resilient future for European wine

More information on LIGAWINE – Low Input Grapegrowing and Winemaking