Terroir 1996 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Review of the delimited zone of the AOC Saint-Joseph

Review of the delimited zone of the AOC Saint-Joseph

Abstract

L’appellation d’origine contrôlée repose sur une définition précise de l’aire de production du raisin. Cette délimitation définie par l’Institut National des Appellations d’Origine est proposée par des experts choisis pour leurs compétences dans le domaine de la connaissance de la relation terroir – vins, après avis du syndicat de défense de chaque AOC. L’exemple choisi concerne l’AOC St Joseph située dans les Cotes du Rhône dites Septentrionales. Celle-ci avait été définie en 1956 sur 6 communes autour de Tournon en Ardèche. Elle fut étendue à 20 autres communes en 1969. A cette époque, les experts ont pris en compte l’incertitude vis-à-vis de l’avenir viticole des coteaux qui dominent la vallée du Rhône. En effet, pour les entretenir, ceux-ci nécessitaient des ressources humaines qui commençaient à se faire rare. Cette idée conduisit ainsi à délimiter une zone de production assez large afin d’étendre l’appellation à des terrains compatibles avec les moyens modernes d’exploitation liés à la mécanisation. Au milieu des années 1980,dans sa sagesse, la réflexion du syndicat de défense de l’appellation vis à vis de l’avenir de l’AOC St Joseph l’amènera, à prendre conscience de la dérive qui pouvait conduire à une banalisation des vins de l’AOC St Joseph du fait de la délocalisation du vignoble permise par la décision de 1969. Dès 1986, le syndicat demande alors à l’INAO la possibilité d’engager une révision de l’aire délimitée pour respecter l’implantation en coteaux de la vigne,situation qui a fait la notoriété de cette AOC. Après de nombreux travaux sur le terrain et après un long travail de persuasion des différents acteurs de l’appellation, une nouvelle délimitation vit le jour en 1994. Ainsi, l’aire de production potentielle est désormais réduite de 6850 ha à 3400 ha afin de recentrer le vignoble sur les coteaux, éléments fondateurs de cette appellation. Cette opération conduisit également à exclure des vignes déjà plantées: sur 755 ha de vignes que comportait l’AOC en 1992, 170 ha furent éliminés. Des mesures d’accompagnement notamment incitation financière pour planter dans les coteaux ont été retenues et ont permis de faire accepter cette opération douloureuse. Aujourd’hui le recentrage du vignoble dans les coteaux a permis de recadrer l’image de l’AOC St Joseph et de mieux affirmer l’identité de ses vins. Elle a permis également de faire revivre le paysage viticole des coteaux dominant la vallée du Rhône dans des conditions économiques satisfaisantes permettant une meilleure valorisation du produit. Des mesures d’accompagnement notamment incitation financière pour planter dans les coteaux ont été retenues et ont permis de faire accepter cette opération douloureuse. Aujourd’hui le recentrage du vignoble dans les coteaux a permis de recadrer l’image de l’AOC St Joseph et de mieux affirmer l’identité de ses vins. Elle a permis également de faire revivre le paysage viticole des coteaux dominant la vallée du Rhône dans des conditions économiques satisfaisantes permettant une meilleure valorisation du produit. Cet exemple montre qu’un travail d’experts, réalisé en lien avec les «porteurs de mémoire» que représente le syndicat de défense d’une AOC permet de retrouver les éléments fondamentaux qui constituent le «terroir» de l’AOC St Joseph: un paysage, des vignes en coteaux et un savoir-faire dans un milieu difficile pour révéler un vin prestigieux.

DOI:

Publication date: February 3, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2002

Type: Article

Authors

Gilbert FRIBOURG

Institut National des Appellations, 17, Rue Jacquard ZI des Auréats, 26000 VALENCE

Keywords

appellation d’origine, délimitation, révision, coteaux, AOC St Joseph

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2002

Citation

Related articles…

Bioclimatic shifts and land use options for Viticulture in Portugal

Land use, plays a relevant role in the climatic system. It endows means for agriculture practices thus contributing to the food supply. Since climate and land are closely intertwined through multiple interface processes, climate change may lead to significant impacts in land use. In this study, 1-km observational gridded datasets are used to assess changes in the Köppen–Geiger and Worldwide Bioclimatic (WBCS)

Assessing the relationship between cordon strangulation, dieback, and fungal trunk disease symptom expression

Grapevine trunk diseases including Eutypa dieback are a major factor in the decline of vineyards and may lead to loss of productivity, reduced income, and premature reworking or replanting. Several studies have yielded results indicating that vines may be more likely to express symptoms of vascular disease if their health is already compromised by stress. In Australia and many other wine-growing regions it is a common practice for canes to be wrapped tightly around the cordon wire during the establishment of permanent cordon arms. It is likely that this practice may have a negative effect on health and longevity, as older cordons that have been trained in this manner often display signs of decay and dieback, with the wire often visibly embedded within the wood of the cordon. It is possible that adopting a training method which avoids constriction of the vasculature of the cordon may help to limit the onset of vascular disease symptom expression. A survey was conducted during the spring of two consecutive growing seasons on vineyards in South Australia displaying symptoms of Eutypa lata infection when symptomless shoots were 50–100 cm long. Vines were assessed as follows: (i) the proportion of cordon exhibiting dieback was rated using a 0–100% scale; (ii) the proportion of canopy exhibiting foliar symptoms of Eutypa dieback was rated using a 0–100% scale; (iii) the severity of strangulation was rated using a 0–4 point scale. Images were also taken of each vine for the purpose of measuring plant area index (PAI) using the VitiCanopy App. The goal of the survey was to determine if and to what extent any correlation exists between severity of strangulation and cordon dieback, in addition to Eutypa dieback foliar symptom expression.

Green berries on Gewürztraminer (Vitis vinifera L.) in South Tyrol (Italy)

The grape variety Gewürztraminer is known to be affected by two physiological disorders namely berry shrivel and bunch stem necrosis. During the season 2014 we noticed a new symptomatology type of ripening disorder on the variety. The new symptom showed not all berries fallowing the normal maturation stages, but single berries remaining at a soft but green stage till harvest. The broad distribution of these so called “green berries” symptoms in different production sites of our region, caused huge damage due to the difficulty of eliminating single berries per bunch before harvesting. Therefore, the Research Centre Laimburg began to investigate the reasons and origins of this new symptom. This work shows the results of first attempts to find causes for the symptom as well as the resulting approach to mitigate symptoms. Applications of magnesium leaf fertilizer showed first promising results against this putative disorder. To study the causal effect of the green berries 30 symptomatic vineyards in 2014 have been selected for a monitoring during the season 2016. To evaluate the foliar nutrient treatment two vineyards have been selected for application of magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride. Leaf and berry nutrient analysis, as well as the main quality parameters during ripening have been performed. As soon as “green berries” symptoms appeared, incidence and severity have been evaluated. Most of the symptomatic vineyards of the 2016 monitoring showed light to clear magnesium deficit symptoms on their foliage. Only during the seasons 2020 and 2021 “green berries” symptoms could be found in the leaf fertilizer treatment vineyards. Both seasons showed a significant effect of the magnesium treatments to reduce the incidence and severity of the symptom. It seems that the appearance of the “green berries” symptom on Gewürztraminer is correlated to a disturbed uptake of magnesium of the vines.

First step in the preparation of a soil map of the Protected Designation of Origin Valdepeñas (Central, Spain)

This work is a first step to make a map of vineyard soils. The characterization of the soils of the Protected Designation of Origin (D.P.O.) Valdepeñas will allow to group the studied profiles according to their physico-chemical characteristics and the concentrations of most relevant chemical elements. 90 soil profiles were analysed throughout the territory and the soils were sampled and described according to FAO (2006) and classified according to and Soil Taxonomy (2014). All samples were air dried, sieved and some physico-chemical parameters were determined following standard protocols. Also, major and trace elements were analysed by X-ray fluorescence. The statistically study was made using the SPSS program. Trend maps were made using the ArcGIS program. The studied soils have the following average properties: pH, 8.3; electrical conductivity, 0,20 dS/m (low); clay, 18.8% (medium) and CaCO3, 17.1% (high). In the study for the major elements. The major elements of these soils are Si, followed by Ca and Al, with an average content of 203.7 g/kg, 105.5 g/kg and 74.0 g/kg respectively. On the other hand, 27 trace elements have been studied. Of all of them, it can be highlighted the average values of Ba (361.8 mg/kg), Sr (129.3 mg/kg), Rb (83.4 mg/kg), V (74.2 mg/kg) and Ce (70.6 mg/kg). Ba, V and Ce values are higher and the values of Sr and Rb are lower to those found in the literature. The discriminant analysis shows a percentage of grouping of 91%. The content of chemical elements together with the physico-chemical characteristics allows grouping the soils in 4 group according to their order in the classification to Soil Taxonomy; due to the importance of the Calcisols in Castilla-La Mancha, it has been decided to establish them as their own group even if they do not appear in Soil Taxonomy classification.

Legacy of land-cover changes on soil erosion and microbiology in Burgundian vineyards

Soils in vineyards are recognized as complex agrosystems whose characteristics reflect complex interactions between natural factors (lithology, climate, slope, biodiversity) and human activities. To date, most of the unknown lies in an incomplete understanding of soil ecosystems, and specifically in the microbial biodiversity even though soil microbiota is involved in many key functions, such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Soil biological properties are indicative of soil quality. Therefore, understanding how soil communities are related to soil ecosystem functioning is becoming an essential issue for soil strategy conservation. Here, we propose to assess the importance of land-cover history on the present-day microbiological and physico-chemical properties. The studied area was selected in the Burgundian vineyards (Pernand-Vergelesses, Burgundy, France) where land occupation has been reconstructed over the last 40 years. Soil samples were collected in five areas reflecting various land cover history (forest, vineyards, shifting from forest to vineyards). For each area, physico-chemical parameters (pH, C, N, P, grain size) were measured and DNA was extracted to characterize the abundance and diversity of microbial communities. The obtained results show significant differences in the five areas suggesting that present-day microbial molecular biomass and bacterial taxonomic is partly inherited from past land occupation. Over longer period of time, such study of land-uses legacies may help to better assess ecosystem recovery and the impact of management practices for a better soil quality and vineyards sustainability.