Il piano regolatore delle citta’ del vino

Muscat of Alexandria is one of the oldest cultivars still existing, globally recognized for its distinctive aroma, and the primary grape variety cultivated in the Greek Island of Lemnos, yielding various white wines with designated origins.

I performed my PhD in grapevine physiology under the supervision of Dr. H. Medrano, standing in the vineyards from pre-dawn to sunrise during many hot, wet and sunny days with my colleagues J.M.E. and J.B. I also spent many days and nights facing ticks year-round working in Mediterranean macchias with J.Gu. and M.M. Later I was able to supervise PhD students on grapevines – like A.P. and M.T. – and on Mediterranean vegetation – like J.Gal. With the incorporation to the group of M.R.-C. ‘the puzzle’ was completed and, combining the aforementioned studies, we could conclude (more than 20 years ago) things like: (1) stomatal conductance is the best proxy for ‘water stress’ in studies on photosynthesis; (2) steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence retrieves photosynthesis under saturating light; (3) photoinhibition is not a major photosynthetic limitation under water stress; (4) mesophyll conductance instead is; and (5) mesophyll conductance is a major driver of leaf water use efficiency.

As six on the nine planetary boundaries have already been crossed, putting our safe life on Earth at risk (Rockström et al., 2024) and agriculture is significantly responsible for it (Campbell et al., 2017), viticulture, faces the challenge of reducing its environmental impacts through fundamental changes to its practices.

The Cognac region is expanding, driven by the success of its renowned brandy and the demand for high grape yields to ensure a steady supply of base wine for distillation. Ugni blanc, the most widely planted grape variety, relies on rootstocks for soil and climate adaptation, providing essential nutrient supplies to the scion. Understanding the impact of rootstocks on key berry components, such as sugars and nitrogen compounds, is crucial. These compounds serve as primary precursors for the production of fermentative aroma metabolites, which, in turn, act as quality indicators for eau-de-vie.

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