The European VitiGEOSS project, coordinated by the Eurecat technology centre, has developed a smart platform featuring digital tools for precision viticulture to drive more sustainable vineyard management and the crop’s resilience to climate change.

The innovative VitiGEOSS solution for managing wine holdings harnesses technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, remote sensing, satellite Earth observation services and in-field sensors to generate forecasts and recommendations which help to enhance sustainability in vineyards.

We have developed a tool to support decision-making for in-field vineyard and wine production tasks to streamline vineyard management and shift towards viticulture which is more resilient to drought or unexpected weather changes,” says Rosa Araujo, VitiGEOSS Project Coordinator and Project Manager at Eurecat.

The VitiGEOSS platform compiles and integrates data on long-term weather forecasts up to three months in advance, predictions about crop phenology stages and indicators concerning plant physiology and the specific amount of water required for successful vineyard performance.

The European VitiGEOSS project has developed a smart platform featuring digital tools for precision viticulture to drive more sustainable vineyard management and resilience to climate change.

The tools built into the solution also enable early detection of diseases in vines plus generating alerts to apply preventive treatments based on the level of risk for further spread to adjust the specific amount needed. It thus enables informed decision-making, more sustainable management and adaptation to new situations brought about by climate change.

The smart platform has been validated with the wineries Familia Torres in Catalonia, Symington in Portugal and Mastroberardino in Italy and is now available in demo mode for other interested wineries.

The digital solution also makes it possible to monitor crop yields on a week-by-week basis while helping to reduce operating costs and the environmental impact of wine-growing activities. Here a task planning optimisation tool has been developed to manage field work in the vineyard, such as harvesting, which generates recommendations founded on the equipment and resources available in order to prioritise sustainability and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The VitiGEOSS platform harnesses data on advanced weather forecasts, irrigation, crop phenology and disease development to generate recommendations such as the amount of water or treatments the vineyard needs to optimise wine production tasks while prioritising sustainability.

Presentation of the smart platform to the ecosystem

The VitiGEOSS platform and the project’s results have been unveiled to the wine industry stakeholder ecosystem at a conference held on 16 February at the Vinseum Museum of Wine Cultures of Catalonia in Vilafranca del Penedès.

The conference was run in partnership with the INNOVI Catalan Wine Cluster, the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCAC), the Wine Technology Platform (PTVINO), the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV), the Association of Oenologists and Wine Technicians of Italy (Assoenologi), the Association of Agronomists and Foresters of Avellino province, and the Wine and Vine Cluster of the Duero Region (ADVID).

The VitiGEOSS project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme and its consortium is made up of nine partners from Spain, Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands. They include three research and technology organisations (the Eurecat technology centre, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and the LINKS Foundation), a university (the University of Naples Federico II), an SME (eLEAF), a consultancy firm (PwC) and three wineries (Familia Torres, Symington and Mastroberardino).