At the end of November 2023, SITEVI, the international trade fair for the vine, wine, fruit and olive industries, was held in Montpellier, France. This is where you can discover the innovations that will make the wines of tomorrow, by responding to the challenges facing the wine industry. Focus on three winners of the SITEVI Innovation Awards.
"The wine industry is facing increasingly rapid and brutal challenges", explained Damien Dubrulle, President of Axema, the French association of industrial players in the agricultural equipment and agri-environment sector, at the SITEVI Innovation Awards Ceremony. These challenges include the combined pressure of disease and the reduction or elimination of the use of chemical products, rapid climate change and an increasingly acute shortage of manpower. In concrete terms, this means that this year in France, for the 2023 vintage, there will be mildew, drought and extreme temperatures, and it will be difficult to find farm workers.
The industry is providing solutions to these challenges. For example, mechanisation and, more generally, the automation and digitisation of the various phases of cultivation. Vineyard surveillance is being made easier, and improved performance in artificial vision will enable increasingly accurate diagnoses to be made. What's more, the data collected will make it possible to capitalise on the experience acquired over time and at the place of cultivation, and to develop more and more effective DSTs (Decision Support Tools). The automation of machinery operation reduces drudgery, increases worker safety and preserves the vines. A final important trend is the reduction of the environmental footprint of farming activities, and in particular the decarbonisation of agriculture.
The SITEVI Innovation Awards ceremony, with the nominees.
FRANCK FOUCHAThis competition, organised by SITEVI, recognises the most innovative solutions and technologies presented at the show. This year, out of 106 submissions, the jury initially selected 37 nominated products. After hearing the nominees in October, the jury drew up the list of innovations to be honoured. Here we present two gold medallists and the Jury's Special Prize.
Helical vortexer coupled to a nanobullage system
In winemaking, the integration of solid, liquid or gaseous oenological inputs (fining, yeast, etc.) often comes up against homogenisation problems. This leads to overdosing and imperfect control of oxygen or 'protective' gases such as nitrogen. DYNA WINE®, created by the ICV group, is an innovative, versatile and high-performance technical solution for better integrating oenological inputs, reducing production costs and improving aromatic clarity.
DYNA WINE® is a blender that enables oenological aids to be homogenised perfectly at all stages of wine-making (musts, fermenting wines, finished wines). It consists of a helical Vortexer coupled to a nanobullage system. The principle is to create a vortex just as the components are being added, to ensure that the mixture is as homogeneous as possible. The system consumes no energy. It is the transfer speed of the liquid during pumping that ensures the vortex movement.
Studio NYX & Programme Vinum's Ampelos is a new digital training service in vine pruning for schools and businesses. The service enables users to learn how to prune vines by fully immersing themselves in a realistic 3D environment. The aim is to train novice pruners and improve the skills of professional pruners in 'virtuous' pruning, freeing them from seasonal constraints.
Pruning training helps to improve posture and prevent musculoskeletal disorders, as well as enhancing the pruner's expertise and self-perception. Ampelos is also a way of communicating with young people and making the industry's short-staffed trades more attractive.
Copilote: a tool setting interface
A first for 2023, the Prix Spécial du Jury was created by the SITEVI Innovation Awards jury to reward a tool that represents a genuine revolution in the day-to-day working comfort of winegrowers.
The Copilote, from SARL Egretier Jean-Michel, is an artificial intelligence system for working the soil, with an interface in the tractor cab. The aim is to save time and reduce drudgery. The 'co-pilot' screen means that users no longer have to contort their bodies to see where their equipment is positioned. Thanks to direct feedback to the cab on working widths, heights, depths and, above all, the sensitivity and density of the soil, the user can make settings from the touch panel, and the equipment adapts and informs him in real time. Copilote is a user-machine interface with two-way information transfer.