Iberian Future Wines Assessing the future of our wine

Dr. Ignacio Morales Castilla

Ignacio Morales Castilla (Madrid, 1981), has a PhD in Ecology by the University of Alcalá, where he currently works after expanding his research experience working in worldwide renowned institutions such as McGill University (Canada) or Harvard University (USA). His research has studied the effects of Global Change on biodiversity from multiple angles. Recently, he has become interested on the agrarian dimension of biodiversity, analyzing the importance of agrobiodiversity as tool to adapt agriculture to climate change. Dr. Morales-Castilla uses viticulture as a conspicuous study case given the high diversity found in winegrapes, as well as their economic, ecological and cultural importance.

Dra. Mercedes Uscola Fernández

Mercedes Uscola is an expert in plant ecophysiology applied to the ecological restoration of agroforestry systems. She has a PhD in Ecology, conservation and restoration of ecosystems from the Universities of Alcalá, Rey Juan Carlos, Polytechnic and Complutense of Madrid (Spain). After being a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University (USA) and at the University of Alcalá (Spain), she is currently associate professor at the Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain) and she is a frequent visiting professor at the Beijing Forestry University (China). Her research focuses on analyzing the tolerance of plant species to both biotic (competition and symbiosis) and abiotic stress factors (extreme temperatures, drought or pollutants). Applied to wine crops, her research is focussed on determinate the functional traits across vine varieties to assess their suitability to different climatic contexts.

MSc. Marta Fernández Pastor

Marta Fernández Pastor is graduated in Environmental Science by Alcala University (2012) and currently she works as research assistant in the Madrid Institute of Agrarian, Food and Rural Research and Development (IMIDRA). She obtained a MSc in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management and Functioning by the Basque Country University (2014). Her MSc Thesis, on the effects of Global Change on the Spanish Network of Protected areas was completed at Complutense University of Madrid as part of a research project for the Agricultural, Food and Environment Ministry. She is specialized in Geographic Information Systems and currently works in a cartography for the wine regions of the world.

MSc.Lara Ríos Moreno

I am a PhD student in the Ecology, Biodiversity and Global Change program at Universidad de Alcalá. My research is mainly focused on the agroecosystems adaptation to climate change through the selection of the most suitable crop species and varieties. The main objectives of my work are: 1) to experimentally determine the tolerance of different agronomic species and varieties to climatic stress factors; 2) to create spatially explicit models that allow us to identify the most suitable species and varieties for each cultivation area, always trying to maximize the biodiversity. Most of my work has been carried out in the field of viticulture and we have studied the phenological and physiological response of different grapevine varieties to high temperatures and drought.

Sofia Aguirre Iglesias

Sofía did a bachelor's Degree in Biology in the University of Alcalá (2020) and a Master's Degree in Ecosystem Restoration (UAH, UCM, UPM, URJC), during which she began her research career on the UAH TUBERest project. She is currently a research technician for the Iberian Future Wines project, led by Dr. Morales-Castilla. She is also a PhD student in the Ecology and Global Change program at UAH. Her PhD focuses on the macroecological study of the use of intra- and interspecific agrobiodiversity as a measure of adaptation to global change, using winegrape and emerging crops in the European market as case studies. https://github.com/soagig

Angel Soria Martín

Higher Specialist Technician in Viticulture and Oenology, specializing in agricultural and food sciences, at the "School of Vine and Dairy Industries" Technical School in Madrid. I studied Agricultural Technical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, specializing in agricultural and food sciences. I have extensive experience in viticulture and oenology, as well as wine tasting at all levels, with several qualifications including accredited trainer of prestigious wines such as Sherry, Montilla and Moriles, and Cava, and a Level 3 qualification from WSET.

Dr. Gregorio Muñoz Organero

Born in La Villa de Don Fadrique (Toledo) in a family of La Mancha winegrowers, he grew surrounded by vineyards. PhD in Agronomical Engineering, his professional career centers on viticulture, mainly in the conservation, characterization and evaluation of grapevine varieties. He has developed the most part of his career in the vine varieties collection at “El Encín” (Alcala de Henares), where he currently is in charge of Research Services. He has coordinated and participated in several regional, national and European research projects related with the genetic diversity of winegrapes, its conservation and promotion. At present, he is member of several national and international commissions and working groups related with plant genetic resources.

Dr. Félix Cabello Sáenz de Santa María

Felix Cabello was born in Madrid though his family comes from La Rioja: Tricio and Aguilar Del Río Alhama. He obtained his degree in Agronomic Engineering by the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Following, he obtained a PhD by the same university, and carried on work in the “El Encín” experimental field, an agronomic institute belonging to the Comunidad de Madrid. His studies have identified and assessed varieties of Spanish and European winegrapes. Currently, he is the chief of the Agro-food Department at the Instituto Madrileño de Investigación Agraria y Alimentaria de la Comunidad de Madrid.