Admin - South Africa Wine Research Library

Establishment of the technical and scientific bases for AI applications in wine production

Project title: Establishment of the technical and scientific bases for AI applications in wine production: Study case on viticulture, yield and phenology AI models
Project number: SAGWRI CP 25-01
Project leader: Prof CA Poblete-Echeverria

Selection of GLRaV-3 resistant rootstocks for the South African Wine Industry

Project number: PATHSOL GP 24-01
Project leader: Prof. Gerhard Pietersen
This study aims to select GLRaV-3-resistant rootstocks of the six most vital rootstock cultivars, establish them, verify their resistance, and make them widely available to the industry.

Establishment of grapevine leafroll associated virus 1 and 2 ELISAs

Project number: PATHSOL GP 24-02
Project leader: Prof Gerhard Pietersen
This project aims to develop ELISA tests to detect GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-2 and, if successful, combine them into a GLRaV1, -2, & -3 cocktail ELISA, which can detect all three viruses within a single test.

Evaluation of organic fertilisers on soil quality and wine grape performance

Project number: SU-SS AH 24-01
Project leader: Dr A Hardie-Pieters
This study will evaluate and compare major types of organic fertilisers to conventional ones and their impact on soil quality and winegrape production.

In-field quantification of grapevine key analytes using portable infrared spectroscopy devices

Project number: SAGWRI JT 24-01
Project leader: Dr JL Aleixandre-Tudo
The project aims to develop a portable device that can measure important grape analytes in the vineyard during ripening.

Analysing induced diversity in a collection of Pinotage plants after gamma irradiance

Project number: P04000060-2024
Project leader: Prof Melané Vivier
This project aims to expand upon prior research efforts to obtain new Pinotage clones and perform viticultural and oenological assessments on selected groups of vines.

Generating high-resolution, vine-specific actual evapotranspiration maps at daily intervals by combining crop coefficients, weather station data and satellite imagery

Project title: Generating high-resolution, vine-specific actual evapotranspiration maps at daily...

Development of a field-deployable detection system for GLRaV-3

Project number: GENUS MC 24-01
Project leader: Dr M. Campa
This study aims to establish a hand-held, field-deployable device for detecting GLRaV-3 under field conditions.

Critical wine analyses for monitoring authenticity adulteration – Tools for the authentication of South African wines

Project number: FShip P04000340
Project leader: Dr Francois van Jaarsveld
This project aims to allow for additional analytical capacity and investigate the effectiveness of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) as a cost-effective screening tool for the authentication of wines, including all variations caused by grape cultivar, geographic location, and vintage. FT-IR and other methods in the authenticity studies will be compared and validated for their feasibility for the local authentication of South African wines.

South African de-alcoholised wines

Project number: SAGWRI WDT 24-01
project leader: Prof Wessel du Toit
The project aims to obtain new information on how to improve the quality and stability of de-alc wines.

Premiumisation and Value Growth of South African Chenin blanc wine

Project number: SAGWRI MAV 24-01
Project leader: Prof Melané Vivier
This project aims to explore ways to ensure the profitability of South African Chenin blanc wines in a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on balancing yield and quality.

CRISPR-2: first applications for virus resistance and drought tolerance

Project Number: FShip GenUS 21-01
Project leaders: Vivier, M & Burger, J
This project aims to provide proof of the principle of gene manipulation, specifically genome editing, as an approach to developing grapevine plant material (both scion and rootstock) that can withstand drought better.