Local committee

Full professor in Enology at the University of Applied Science Kaiserslautern. Director of the dual Bachelor program Viticulture and Enology and elected Chair of the Weincampus Neustadt. His research focuses on the technology for grape and wine processing, wine logistics and wine ageing. His publications focus on the wine aroma and polyphenol analysis as well as on the sensory characteristicy of wine. He is an OIV delegate, board member in scientific associations, and a member in several national and international research project consortia.

Ulrich Fischer, Instituts für Weinbau und Oenologie

Head of the Institute for Viticulture and Oenology at the DLR Rheinpfalz Research Station in Neustadt and honorary professor in the department for Chemistry at the Technical University Kaiserslautern. His research focuses on the linkage of sensory and aroma chemistry to find structural relationships between wine constituents and their sensory contribution to wine quality. A particular interest is the modulation of aroma compounds by viticultural and oenological measures and their sensory effects.  He is a member of the scientific advisory board of the research council of the food industry in Germany and of the management board of the Mundus Vini Wine award.

Elke Richling, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern
Elke Richling is Professor at the TU Kaiserslautern, chair of the Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology and dean of the Faculty of Chemistry. Her research mainly focuses on the valorization of by products from beer and wine production, polyphenol metabolism, biological effects such as antioxidative effects, and influences on glucose and lipid metabolismm in humans. Additionally her work is evaluating the toxicological potential of heat induced contaminants such as acrylamid, acrolein, furan derivatives, and glyoxal. She is part of the BioComp project funded by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and was member in several EU research project consortia.

Maren Scharfenberger-Schmeer, Weincampus Neustadt

Currently full professor of wine microbiology at university of aplied science Kaiserslautern, working at the Weincampus Neustadt. She is responsible for the double master program Oenology and Viticulture in cooperation with the university at Colmar.
Her research activities focus on microbiologica! analytics (partially smartphone-based), and the formation mechanism of microbiologically caused off-flavours in wine, such as acetic acid, diacetyl or mousiness. Also new technologies like fedbatch-fermentation or UV-C treatment are in her research field.

Fabian Weber, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
He is a lecturer/researcher at the University of Bonn, where he works on the phenolic profile of wine and fruit juices.He is a food chemist by training with a additional focus on food technology. His main research interests are the the interactions of phenolics and polysaccharides and the corresponding influence on extractability and sensory profiles of the products.

Pascal Wegmann-Herr, DLR Rheinpfalz - Institut für Weinbau und Oenologie
Internships in wineries in Gerrmany and the Loire region were followed by studies Dipl.-Ing. Viticulture & Oenology at the Geisenheim University and a diploma Nationale d'Oenologie (DNO) at the University of Bordeaux. Deeper professional experience as a cellar master in southern Burgundy and in advising various wineries in South Africa completed the passion for Viticulture and Oenology. In 2006 Wegmann-Herr started his scientific career at the DLR Rheinpfalz, where he passed his second state examination in 2008 for whom he qualified as a teacher at agricultural vocational schools. Further research activities led to a doctorate at the university Mainz dealing with biogenic amines and fermentation. Various teaching positions are mostly related to wine chemistry and wine microbiology. His research focuses on red wine technology, white wine stylistics and wine sensory.

Peter Winterhalter, Technische Universität Braunschweig
Peter Winterhalter is head of the Institute of Food Chemistry at Technische Universität Braunschweig (TUBS), Germany. He graduated from University of Karlsruhe and obtained his PhD from Würzburg University in 1988. In 1989 he visited as a postdoctoral fellow the Australian Wine Research Institute, Adelaide, before returning to Würzburg University as a Research Fellow. In 1995 he was appointed professor of food chemistry at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg before finally moving to TUBS as a full professor in 1997 where he was also dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy. His research activities focus on natural products/food chemistry and include aroma precursors, countercurrent chromatography, food authentication, natural pigments, and wine research. He is board member of the research association of the German food industry (FEI) and head of the scientific advisory board of FEI, furthermore vice-president of Food & Health North Germany and also vice-president of the Internationals Society of CCC/CPC. He is member in the scientific advisory boards of several journals and has published approx. 350 scientific papers and 6 books.

Lena Keller, Oenologie und Prozesstechnik, Hochschule Kaiserslautern
Lena Keller is a Professor of Enology and Process Technology at Weincampus Neustadt / University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern. As a pharmacist and natural products chemist, her research focuses on advancing the field of wine analytics and wine metabolomics. She is interested in linking chemical and sensory properties of wine.