WiVitis is a three-year, cross-border research project (Interreg Upper Rhine) with the participation of France, Germany and Switzerland. The aim of the project is to maintain and promote sustainable viticulture, as well as to address problems caused by pests and climate change and the resulting extreme weather events through the cooperation of a network of research institutions and wineries.

For wine producers, healthy, pest-resistant grape varieties that are suitable for producing  high-quality and attractive table wines are a prerequisite for continuing their work in a sensible and profitable way. Wine production is already suffering from the economic consequences of climate change. The Nano Imaging Lab looks back on decades of collaboration with the Institute of Viticulture in Freiburg (WBI) and was already involved in the Interreg project “Vitifutur”. The Nano Imaging Lab's expertise in electron microscopic imaging and the necessary infrastructure are available to all participants. The project partners are in constant communication and support each other.

The cryo-SEM (low-temperature scanning electron microscope) in particular is ideal for imaging plant structures, as other preparation methods can damage sensitive structures such as surface waxes. Due to rapid freezing of the sample material, the structures can be imaged very accurately and true to nature.

https://www.wivitis.wine-science.eu/

Project duration: May 2023 to April 2026

Participating regions: Alsace, Baden-Würtenberg, Rheinland Pfalz, Northwestern Switzerland