Sitevi: the university innovation hub dedicated to vineyards and wine
The players in the wine industry at the Montpellier University Innovation Cluster (PUI) in Montpellier took part in the SITEVI international trade fair trade fair, which brought together the wine, arboriculture, and olive oil sectors at the exhibition center from November 25 to 27. It was an opportunity to offer professionals forward-looking solutions in the fields of research, training, and innovation.
In recent years, the wine industry has undergone unprecedented changes: evolving professional practices, falling consumption, climate change... All these upheavals require new solutions. So, at the 2025 edition of the Sitevi trade show, which welcomed nearly 1,000 exhibitors and more than 50,000 visitors, the presence of the PUI, led by the University of Montpellier, was a given.
This was also evident to the 150 or so visitors who came to meet them at the "Together for the vineyards of the future" stand, which the UM ran withINRAE andthe Institut Agro (members of the PUI), as well asthe IFV, SudVinBio, the Occitanie Chamber of Agriculture, and Unisson. Seven players and partners in R&D, innovation, and training—along with the teaching teams from the national oenology degree program and the CFA EnsupLR —came together to answer questions from students, suppliers, producers, scientists, local authorities, and even the Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard, who was very interested in the driving forces behind the PUI.
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"I have met with around fifteen companies that want to be put in touch with laboratories capable of overcoming the obstacles they face. These include a fertilizer manufacturer and a water company, both of which want to work on their own practices or those of producers in terms of consumption," explains Sophie Marron, INRAE's innovation manager in charge of coordinating the PUI's vine and wine roadmap.
Curious about scientific and technological advances that could help them grow, the entrepreneurs in attendance were able to talk with researchers from Vinid'occ, the key challenge launched by the Occitanie Region, as well as with a dozen start-ups linked to or emerging from public research that offer innovative digital solutions. "A space was set aside for them so they could meet potential customers or partners and, above all, showcase their innovations," explains Sophie Marron. The researchers in attendance also took part in several conferences to present the challenges facing plant protection products, ongoing experiments, and the development of "no-low," a trend that involves producing wine with very low alcohol content or that is completely alcohol-free.
"Climate change has been an important marker."
The PUI also gave a presentation on the experimental unit at the Vassal estate, a kind of conservatory dedicated to the genetic characterization of vines located in Marseillan-Plage. With nearly 8,500 species from around 50 countries, this collection responds to the exciting challenge of "preserving genetic heritage, " adds Sophie Marron. "But with the risk of flooding linked to rising water levels and soil salinization, there are plans to transfer the estate to the Pech Rouge experimental unit in Gruissan in the Aude region," continues the partnership development manager at INRAE, the institute behind this amazing upcoming project.
During tasting sessions, the seven partners at the stand invited passersby to discover the resistant grape varieties developed in the south. The wine industry is facing major challenges across the country. While consumers are turning away from this iconic French product, climate change is threatening production and causing alcohol levels to skyrocket. This is a double whammy that the PUI, whose vineyard network is one of the densest in France, is working hard to combat. "For us, climate change has been a significant marker, because we were affected earlier than others," recalls Gaspard Lépine, PUI project manager for INRAE in Montpellier and at the national level.
A shift that meets expectations
To address these risks, researchers are actively working on grape varieties that are resistant to water and heat stress, as well as disease-resistant varieties. "We are also working on transforming cultivation practices so that winegrowers can better adapt to climate change... Such as through the use of grass cover, for example."
Within the PUI, researchers are also working to support winegrowers in the area of "processing," helping them to correct the acidity and high sugar content of wines subjected to the scorching heat that now punctuates every summer in the far south. "This is a very important issue at the moment, because it is a shift that meets consumer expectations. The transformation of non-alcoholic beer has been more successful than that of wine. With white wine, dealcoholization works very well, but we have a little more difficulty with red wine," says Gaspard Lépine. Valorization, improvement, dealcoholization, adaptation... These are all crucial areas of research in order to support a wine industry in crisis.
