Objective
Traditional wine vinegar production is a very lengthy process. Such production times have become the most serious problem. Traditional production is generally done by small SMEs who are now at risk due to high production costs, low profit margins and competition from inferior versions of vinegar produced by 'quick' industrial methods.Although there is strong consumer demand for high quality vinegars, the amount produced annually is low and expensive. Furthermore, the low annual production level is a consequence of a lack of knowledge of the basic biotechnological process involved.
To minimize the costs due to the long production periods and to reduce the risks associated we propose to shorten production while maintaining the quality standards. The main reason for time consuming production process is that the Acetic acid bacteria are obligate aerobes and oxygen must be slowly fed into the process. Until now, production times have been reduced by forcing air to disperse through the wine which converts the superficial transformation (aeration) into a submerged development. However, the quality of the final product is lower than that produced by the slower traditional method as there is considerable loss of volatile compounds.
The WINEGAR project plans to reduce the time needed for traditional vinegar production through an integrated approach which will include research into the wood used in the barrels and the selection and control of bacteria. Most of the wood used in the production of wine vinegar barrels has been similar to that used in wine production i.e. oak, which allows very limited oxygen transfer. The WINEGAR project will investigate the use of other woods which are more porous. The project will also research the effects of wood thickness on oxygen diffusion.
Finally, a collection of the different micro-organisms involved in the production will be developed (acetic acid bacteria) during the WINEGAR project and for other follow-on work.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture viticulture
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry organic acids
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries forestry
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2003-SME-1
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Coordinator
TARRAGONA
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.