The South West section of the French Institute for Vine and Wine at a glance

IFV's missions and role

The French Institute for Vine and Wine (IFV) is represented in Southwest vineyards by a research unit called "V'innopôle Sud-Ouest" located in the heart of the Gaillac vineyard, 50 km north-east of Toulouse. IFV is an organisation that elaborates reliable technical standards in Viticulture and Enology. For this, it conducts experiments and field trials on various topics such as plant material, vine growing, vineyard management, crop protection, winemaking and marketing. IFV also helps SMEs in their R&D and innovation activities. Open to education, teaching and training, IFV has developed partnerships with viticultural and enological training centers in Toulouse. Dissemination and technology transfer are another key issues and the institute employs a technical engineer to disseminate research results to winegrowers and winemakers through several communication tools (website, newsletters and technical magazines sent every two months to about 2000 winegrowers from the South West).

V'innopôle Sud-Ouest : an ultra-modern experimental center

The ultra-modern equipment of V'innopôle Sud-Ouest allows performing specific studies to test innovations in Viticulture and Winemaking. The infrastructure includes a cellar for micro-winemaking which can contains up to 500 tanks with capacity ranging from 30 to 50 kg of grape and fifteen 30 to 50 hl tanks and a 130 m2 modern laboratory. Due to the size of the region, we have a permanent agent based in Condom, in the middle of Gascony vineyards close to the Pyrénees Mountains. The quality of the research work conducted by our institute relies on the passion that all our researchers have for the vine, wines and the wonderful contrast our winegrowing region offers. Our team is composed of 13 specialists working on several topics such as pest management, innovation in enology, vineyard mecanization, sensors, grapevine physiology, soil management, grape breeding and wine aromas.

A solid experience in managing European collaborative projects

Due to our strategic geographical location close to the Spanish border, we are eligible for funding through several European programs such as POCTEFA and SUDOE. Therefore, we have developped a considerable experience in managing European collaborative projects. Recently, we have participated or are presently participating in :

• Vinaromas (POCTEFA 2007-2013) : Aromatic valorization of Pyrenees Central Massif wines
• Winetech Plus (SUDOE 2007-2013) : Community innovation and new technologies in viticulture and enology
• InnoVine (KBBE) : Combining innovation in vineyard management and genetics for a sustainable viticulture
• WINEtwork (H2020) : Network for the exchange and transfer of innovative knowledge between European winegrowing regions to increase the productivity and sustainability of the sector

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