WINE Project

Context

Adoption of sustainable viticultural practices in Switzerland requires research that addresses the needs and open questions of winegrowers. Grapevines are an agriculturally intensive crop, requiring high use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers, and other inputs. More information is needed about the "landscape" of viticultural practices in Switzerland and any possible impacts.

About the project

This project coordinated working groups consisting of researchers, winegrowers from German- and French-speaking Switzerland and other stakeholders, to discuss challenges and concerns surrounding sustainable viticultural practices. The groups co-developed a winegrower survey regarding sustainable practices and a pilot research project to examine links between agricultural practices (e.g. use of pesticides), location of vineyards (e.g. solar radiation) and vineyard biodiversity and subsequent relationships with wine quality characteristics (microbiology and chemistry). These citizen scientists participated in collection of samples and data from their own vineyards and wineries. Researchers at ETH Zürich and Agroscope then analyzed these samples and data to present these findings back to the winegrower and stakeholder community.

Invovlement of citizen scientists

The results of this initial survey were subsequently discussed and analyzed by the original focus groups. Participating winegrowers and stakeholders were therefore central to every stage of the project: from the primary development of the research questions, initial sampling and data collection, and the interpretation thereof, as well as planning of further projects.

Results and lessons learnt

This Citizen Science project therefore layed the foundation for future collaborations with winegrowers throughout Switzerland.