Terroir 1996 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The« Sigales’ method »

The« Sigales’ method »

Abstract

Le comportement de la vigne est étroitement lié aux propriétés hydriques des sols surtout dans leurs parties profondes. Cette importance majeure des variables les moins accessibles à l’observation rend difficile la réalisation de cartes de sols pertinentes.
Connaissance et expérience du vigneron sont extrêmement riches d’informations.
C’est pourquoi il est placé au cœur de la réflexion, de façon à ce que les compétences scientifiques et techniques des experts et les observations pratiques des hommes de terrain s’enrichissent mutuellement.
Cette « méthode » est basée sur un système de réunions, de formation, qui permet une validation systématique en salle et sur le terrain des hypothèses de spatialisation cartographique.
Ainsi, avec des moyens raisonnables, deux buts sont atteints : la création de documents cartographiques validés et adaptés et la formation des vignerons, acteurs principaux de la filière viticole.

The behaviour of the grape plant is directly related to the availability of water in the deep and very deep ground layers. This major influence of the less accessible variables makes creation of relevant soil maps difficult.
The knowledge and the experience of the wine grower are the keys to gather meaningful information.
In the « Sigales’method » we try first to give sense to the observations of the wine growers and of their technical team by collective work. Then we draw more accurate maps that ve validate outside with them.
With affordable efforts we achieve two goals : validated and accepted maps and educated wine growers.

DOI:

Publication date: February 15, 2022

Issue:  Terroir 2002

Type: Article

Authors

Isabelle LETESSIER and Cédric.FERMOND

SIGALES Etudes de Sols et de Terroirs – 453 route de Chamrousse 38410 • St Martin d’Uriage (Fr)

Contact the author

Keywords

terroirs viticoles, pédagogie, cartographie, étude des sols
“viticultural terroirs”, pedagogy, cartography

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2002

Citation

Related articles…

Tools for assessing vine nitrogen status; role of nitrogen uptake in the “terroir” effect

Among the numerous nutrients vines extract from the soil, nitrogen is the one that interferes most with vine vigor, yield, berry constitution and wine quality. Many studies relate on the influence of various levels of nitrogen

Soil electrical resistivity, a new and revealing technique for precision viticulture

High resolution spatial information of soil electrical resistivity (ER) was gathered to assess the spatial variability patterns of vegetative growth of two commercial vineyards (Vitis vinifera L. cv.

Chemical markers in wine related to low levels of yeast available nitrogen in the grape

Nitrogen is an important nutrient of yeast and its low content in grape must is a major cause for sluggish fermentations. To prevent problems during fermentation, a supplementation of the must with ammonium salts or more complex nitrogen mixtures is practiced in the cellar. However this correction seems to improve only partially the quality of wine [1]. In fact, yeast is using nitrogen in many of its metabolic pathways and depending of the sort of the nitrogen source (ammonium or amino acids) it produces different flavor active compounds. A limitation in amino acids can lead to a change in the metabolic pathways of yeast and consequently alter wine quality.

Oospore germination dynamics and disease forecasting model for a precision management of downy mildew 

Downy mildew, caused by Plasmopara viticola, is the most economically impactful disease affecting grapevines. This polycyclic pathogen triggers both primary and secondary infection cycles, resulting in significant yield losses when effective disease control measures are lacking. Over the winter, the pathogen survives by forming resting structures, the oospores, derived from sexual reproduction, which produce the inoculum for primary infections. To optimize grapevine downy mildew control and obtain the desired levels of production while minimizing chemical inputs, it is crucial to optimize the timeframe for fungicide application. Disease forecasting models are useful to identify the infection risk.

Non-Saccharomyces yeast nitrogen consumption and metabolite production during wine fermentation

Over the last decade, the use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in the winemaking process has been re-assessed and accepted by winemakers. These yeasts can be used to achieve specific objectives such as lowering the ethanol content, preventing wine spoilage and increasing the production of specific aroma compounds. Since these species are unable to complete alcoholic fermentation, strategies of co- and sequential inoculation of non-Saccharomyces and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been developed. However, when mixed starter cultures are used, several parameters (e.g. strain yeast, inoculation timing and nutrient competitions) impact the growth of the individual yeasts, the fermentation kinetics and the metabolites/aroma production. In particular, competition for nitrogen compounds could have a major impact, potentially leading to sluggish fermentation when the yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) availability is low. Moreover, many aroma compounds produced by the yeasts are directly produced and influenced by nitrogen metabolism such as higher alcohols, acetate esters and ethyl esters which participate in the organoleptic complexity of wine.