Terroir 1996 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Response of the plant: a chief element for the characterisation of wine-growing “terroirs”

Response of the plant: a chief element for the characterisation of wine-growing “terroirs”

Abstract

Face au risque de banalisation des produits agroalimentaires, un intérêt toujours plus marqué se développe en faveur des produits du terroir. La viticulture a été pionnière en la matière et les études des effets du milieu naturel sur la qualité et la typicité des produits sont nombreuses et diverses.
La caractérisation des terroirs peut être faite facteur par facteur en analysant l’incidence des différents critères pris séparément. Elle peut être orientée vers la techerche de marqueurs susceptibles d’intégrer des facteurs liés au sol, au climat et à la plante.
L’approche peut être aussi globale par l’utilisation de systèmes d’information géographiques (SIG) capables de combiner un nombre très élevé de critères, grâce à des outils informatiques très puissants.
Indépendamment de la méthodologie choisie, les informations récoltées doivent être validées par l’étude du comportement de la plante en relafon avec la valeur des produits obtenus dans des terroirs déterminés. Le choix des méthodes de caractérisation va dépendre du niveau d’échelle souhaité qui peut aller de la micro parcelle à l’ensemble d’une région ou d’un pays. Il sera également fonction des objectifs recherchés, qui peuvent être divers, de la classification des crus à l’adaptation d’itinéraires viticoles appropriés.

Vis-à-vis the risk of vulgarising the agroalimentary products, an increasingly shown interest develops in favour of the “terroir” products. The viticulture blazed a trail in this field, and the studies of the effects of the natural environment on the quality and on the originality of the products are numerous and varied.
The characterisation of wine-growing “terroirs” can be done factor by factor by analysing the incidence of the various individual criteria. It can be directed towards the search for markers likely to integrate factors linked to the soil, the climate and the plant.
The approach can also be global by using geographical information systems (GIS) able to combine a very high number of criteria thanks to very powerful data-processing tools.
Independently of the chosen methodology, collected information must be validated by the study of plant behaviour in relation to the value of the products obtained in given “terroirs”. Choice of the characterisation methods will depend on the desired scale level, which can go from micro plot to a whole area or country. It will be also a function of the required objectives which can be diverse, from the vintage classification to the adaptation of suitable wine­growing practices.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: February 15, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2002

Type: Article

Authors

F. MURISIER (1), J.-L. SPRING (1), S. BURGOS2) and V. ZUFFEREY (1)

(1) Station fédérale de recherches en production végétale de Changins, CH-1260 Nyon-Suisse
(2) Ecole d’ingénieurs de Changins, CH-1260 Nyon

Contact the author

Keywords

Caractérisation, terroirs viticoles, sols, climat, plante
Characterisation, wine terroir, soils, climate, plant

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2002

Citation

Related articles…

Non-invasive headspace sorptive extraction for monitoring volatile compounds production by saccharomyces and non-saccharomyces strains throughout alcoholic fermentation

Wine is a solution containing abundant volatile compounds which contribute to their aroma. Many of them are produced by yeast as metabolism by-products. Different yeast strains produce different volatile profiles. The possibility of studying the evolution of volatile compounds during fermentation, using sampling methods that not alter the volume of fermentation media, is of great interest. In spite of this, non-invasive methods to monitoring the evolution of volatile profile during fermentation have been seldom used. The goals of this work were to use by first time the headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE) as non-invasive method to monitor the evolution of volatile profiles throughout alcoholic fermentation and to study the changes on volatile profiles produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lachancea thermotolerans during fermentation of a must with high sugar content.

Read More

The role of soil water holding capacity and plant water relations in zone/terroir expression

The spatial variability in soil type and depth and water holding capacity is very high in many viticultural regions of the world. Differences in rooting depths and water extraction profiles and their seasonal dynamics add additional variability and it is extremely difficult to deduct direct causal relationships between these factors and fruit

Read More

Enhancing vineyard resilience: evaluating sustainable practices in the Douro demarcated region

In mediterranean agriculture, sustainability and productivity are seriously threatened by climate change and water scarcity. This situation is exacerbated by poor management practices such as excessive use of agrochemicals, overgrazing, and monoculture. The Douro demarcated region (ddr) is an emblematic region, classified world heritage site by UNESCO in 2001. Viticulture is the main agricultural activity in DDR, widely known to produce port wine.

Read More

Haplotype-Resolved genome assembly of the Microvine

Developing a tractable genetic engineering and gene editing system is an essential tool for grapevine. We initiated a plant transformation and biotechnology program at Oregon State University using the grape microvine system (V. vinifera) in 2018 to interrogate gene-to-trait relationships using traditional genetic engineering and gene editing. The microvine model is also used for nanomaterial-assisted RNP, DNA, and RNA delivery. Most reference genomes and annotations for grapevine are collapsed assemblies of homologous chromosomes and do not represent the specific microvine cultivar ‘043023V004’ under study at our institution.

Read More

Analyse de la perception du terroir et de sa valorisation par les viticulteurs de l’Anjou

An integrated terroir characterization is currently realized in the French northern vineyard: “Anjou”. The concept of Basic Terroir Unit (B.T.U.) and its associated ground model “Rock, Alteration, Alterite” are used in this characterization. This work is coupled to a viticultural survey, based on parcels.

Read More