Penfolds announces Evermore France Grant Program recipients

By Jaq Bayles

Published: 21 July, 2025

Penfolds has announced the first recipients of its Evermore France Grant Program, an initiative launched earlier this year supporting sustainability projects that contribute to local communities and winemaking in France.

The three projects that will share €120,000 are: L’Appel de la Vigne (€25,000 for its The Call of the Vine project); Pépite Raisin (€40,000 for its Pépite Antifungal project, pictured); and INRAE (€55,000 for its project using rootstocks to optimise water use efficiency while sustaining yield).

Penfolds said it chose France to host the Evermore Grant Program after supporting a number of winemaking endeavours locally and partnerships in Bordeaux and Champagne. This followed the inaugural launch of Evermore in Australia in 2024, which saw four recipients sharing AUD$200,000 to help bring their projects to fruition.

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Kristy Keyte, Penfolds chief marketing officer, said: “The positive reception the French Evermore Grant program has received has genuinely exceeded our expectations. The quality and ambition of the proposals submitted by passionate, forward-thinking individuals and groups is inspiring, and it reflects a strong desire to drive meaningful change within the wine industry and local communities.”

L'Appel de la Vigne’s Call of the Vine project aims to “bring professionals from the viticulture sector together to transform perceptions of careers within the industry and demonstrate viable career opportunities [and] pathways”.

Pépite Raisin’s Pépite Antifungal project aims to “develop and implement a grape-based solution for protecting vineyards against certain types of fungal attacks using grape seed extracts”.

INRAE project “aims to evaluate how different grapevine cultivars and rootstocks influence water use efficiency and yield across varying environmental conditions with the goal to improve sustainability and climate resilience in viticulture”.

Penfolds’ Bordeaux-based winemaker Shauna Bastow said of the judging process: “The high quality of the entries impressed us all and with so many deserving and inspiring applications, it was very difficult to make decisions on which projects to fund, making for some robust (yet respectful!) discussion among all the judges.

“There was such passion in the room from all the judges for supporting the wine industry and French communities in all their guises to thrive, which was truly heartening to see. I’m proud to have been able to take part and can’t wait to see what becomes of our successful recipients and their projects in the months and years ahead.”

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