The France-Berkeley Fund provides a catalyst to establish a multi-institutional collaboration on a frontier topic that requires multidisciplinary scientific expertise to accelerate. The core effort brings together 7 established scientists from 5 Berkeley/Bordeaux institutions with expertise in environmental geophysics, soil-plant microbial ecology, soil physics, or viticulture. Through workshops with the core group and other experts in the community, connections across synergistic projects, and engagements of early career scientists, the effort strives to develop an integrative subdiscipline of biogeophysics for climate-resilient viticulture.