Minister President Alexander Schweitzer visits the Wine Campus Neustadt
Minister President Alexander Schweitzer visits the Wine Campus Neustadt
On September 18, 2025, the Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Alexander Schweitzer, paid a visit to the Wine Campus Neustadt. As part of this year's press trip, he gained insights into the central areas of the wine industry value chain and learned about the current research projects and study programs at the Wine Campus Neustadt.
A tour of the campus at five hands-on stations gave the Minister President a very lively insight into the diversity of teaching and research at the Wine Campus Neustadt. The Smartgrape and Digispray research projects were presented in the vineyard. Digitalization and artificial intelligence are finding their way into wine production and are increasingly becoming part of the future of viticulture. The Minister President was allowed to lend a hand himself: He used digital infrared measuring methods to check the ripeness and quality of grapes.
In the oenological technology center, the focus was on process innovations in winemaking, including the "digital nose" as a new instrument for quality control, which was developed in the PINOT project. It can be used to reliably detect and predict fermentation defects, such as the Böckser. The WineIO research project is investigating further measurement and control methods for winemaking that guarantee greater process reliability in the press house, fermentation and storage cellar and automate the documentation process. In the field of phytomedicine, current research work on PIWI grape varieties, vine diseases and climate-related issues was presented. In the large auditorium of the Wine Campus, the Minister President put alcohol-free and partially dealcoholized wines to the sensory test.
The Minister President got into conversation with international students at the hands-on stations and discussed career paths in the wine industry, agricultural administration and wine research. The great importance of the Neustadt location for the future of German and international viticulture is reflected, among other things, in the cross-border study programs. In addition to the dual Bachelor's degree program in Viticulture and Enology, which is run in cooperation with the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Agriculture, international Master's students have been enrolled at the Wine Campus for several years. The German-French Master's program in Viticulture and Enology and the MBA Wine, Sustainability & Sales program attract prospective students from all over the world who come to the Neustadt campus to start their careers.
The Minister President was impressed by the high level of innovation at the Wine Campus and took the opportunity to find out about current research work in the fields of artificial intelligence and digitalization. These have arrived in viticulture, can be experienced and form an important professional foundation for future students at the Wine Campus.
About the Wine Campus:
The Wine Campus Neustadt is the joint scientific institution of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, Bingen Technical University of Applied Sciences and the Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum Rheinpfalz. With practice-oriented teaching, applied research and strong international networking, the Wine Campus is regarded as a central innovation and training location in Rhineland-Palatinate.
