Wine Hubs

Wine hubs are learning communities/ networks/ active groups of interest composed by stakeholders in the wine sector (producers, researchers, policy makers, organisations in tourism, cultural heritage bodies, etc.). During the project, guidelines and procedures for the setting-up and running of wine hubs will be produced and wine hubs will be created in regions of project countries: Austria - Lower Austria; Greece - Northern Greece and Islands; Hungary - Balatonfüred; Italy - Regions Marche and Tuscany.

How to set up a hub:

Downloadable Guidelines in English, Italian, German, Greek, and Hungarian

The winelab project wine hubs

Austria

Due to the geographical location of the FH Krems and the winery Schuster (project partners) the main focus of the Austrian wine hub is on the different areas within Lower Austria. A strong connection was established with wineries in the areas of Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental, Wachau, Wagram and the Weinviertel. Strong connections are also existing with wineries, officials and policy makers in Vienna. Also the relation with tourist providers, especially in the area of Krems, is very important.

Members of the hub are 4 Universities/Schools, 5 enterprises/wine producers, 5 enterprises in affiliated sectors (e.g. tourism, food sector), Within the years 2017 and 2018, within the scope of the hub's activities, 16 interviews have been coducted with local authorities, tourism boards and local wineries. Representatives of the hub attended the CWTC 2017 conference, as well as several events (Wine Tasting Freigut Thallern, Wintertagung Öko-soziales Forum Österreich, Weinbautag Großriedenthal) which have gathered more than 1000 participants. In 2019, the Austian hub representatives have further communicated the winelab project, as well as its objectives, in several events in the wine sector and beyond (e.g. AAWE Vienna 2019 (BOKU + FH Krems), CWTC 2019 (hosted by FH Wien der WKW), the Wine & Tourism Symposium 2019 (Danube Tourism Board Lower Austria + Federal Government), Regional Committee Meetings).

Greece

 Due to the geographical location of the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology and the winery Nico Lazaridis the main focus of the wine Hub is on the prefecture of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace and part of the islands and central Macedonia prefecture. A strong connection was established with wineries in the areas of Drama, Rodopi, Kavala, Ksanthi and Evros as well as in Santorini and Samos. Strong connections also exist with officials and policy makers in Athens and in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Prefecture as well as in Central Macedonia Prefecture. Also the relation with tourist providers especially in the area of Drama is very important.

Members of the hub are 4 Universities/Schools. 3 Research centers, 15 Enterprises/wine producers, 4 Enterprises in affilated sectors and 11 policy makers. Within the years 2017 and 2018, within the scope of the hub's activities, 15 interviews were carried out within the frame of the project (5 participants represented policy makers, 10 participants were wine producers of different wine growing areas of Greece while 11 out of them completed the two round Delphi Survey of the project). Moreover, the hub participated in the Dramoinognosia festival (2018), where the Department of Oenology and Beverage technology was an important partner for organizing the festival. 

Hungary

The Balatonfüred-Csopak wine region is one of the 6 wine regions around the Lake Balaton. The Lake Balaton is a very popular domestic and international tourism destination in Hungary generating more than 5 million guest nights per year at commercial accommodation establishments. Thanks to its geographical situation, the area is a perfect place for wine sector. Being a popular tourism destination means a great challenge to introduce niche products, including wine tourism. During the last decade, there has been enormous development in the wine and gastronomy around the lake, so winemakers do play a significant role in value creation. Wine plays an important role in the local economy, in the case of a lot of small settlements is increases the awareness and good reputation, furthermore provides employment and income. The area is dominated by smaller companies who operate in a sustainable way, in harmony with the nature.

Members of the hub are 1 University, 10 Enterprises/wine producers, 4 enterprises in affilated sectors, 1 Policy maker. The Hungarian hub promoted winelab through diverse activities. The project  Research report has been presented at the IWINETC (International Wine Tourism Conference) conference (‘external event’) on 10-11 April, 2018, organized in Budapest with more than 300 professionals from all over the world, securing storn networking prospects for the future. In line with the tourism flow, the winelab project has been disseminated at public events, festivals, in order to gather more stakeholders coming from rural
tourism and related fields.

Italy

Marche region

The Italian hub (Marche) consists of 2 Universities and 2 upper secondary education schools, 40 Enterprises/wine producers, 1 enterprise in affiliated sector, 1 University spin off, 3 associations, 1 policy maker, 12 Municipalities, and 2 Chambers of Commerce. 

The following activities have been carried out:

2017

- 6 July: stakeholder engagement event within Symbola Festival (Treia)
- 3 October: Research night (Macerata)
- 7 October: «Field trip» Millennials Food Innovation Festival > Siena
- 13 November: Field trip «Social farming»
- 17 December: Students presentations in the Food Marketing course attended by winemakers

2018

- 3-4 March: Wine Hackathon during Tipicità Festival
- 10 April: Movies and Wine in the Cellar
- 27 April: Arts and Wine (1)
- 19 May: Terroir Marche Festival and TWL Workshop
- 25 May: Arts and Wine (2)

Tuscany region

The Italian hub (Tuscany) consists of 3 Universities, 8 Enterprises/wine producers, 3 Policy makers, and 2 stakeholders in the sector.

The following activities have been carried out:

- 4-5 August 2017: Conference “Vino Sano” – Massa
- 28 October 2017: Gran Gala del Vermentino – Olbia
- 17 February 2018: “Profumo DiVino” - Pescia

Furthermore, the location of “Enoteca Italiana” in Siena has been considered as a potential headquarter of Regional Wine Hub, and as a spin-off of «The Wine Lab» EU Project. The aim is to create relations among Universities and small producers, to support the innovation process and to involve young people in the development of territory. Facilitation of dialogue and knowledge co-creation by adopting participatory approaches, will thus contribute to sustainable development. Facing real problems and needs is a crucial mission to be addressed with shared and coordinated actions.