La certificazione ambientale del territorio: fattibilita’ e prospettive

Today, nearly one billion bottles of different sizes and capacities are aging in Champagne cellars while waiting to be put on the market. Among them, several tens of thousands of prestigious cuvees elaborated prior the 2000s are potentially concerned by prolonged aging on lees. However, when it comes to champagne tasting, dissolved CO₂ is a key compound responsible for the very much sought-after effer-vescence in glasses [1]. Yet, the slow decrease of dissolved CO₂ during prolonged aging of the most prestigious cuvees raises the issue of how long a champagne can age before it becomes unable to form CO₂ bubbles during tasting [2].

The accession Criolla Chica Nº2 (CCN2) is catalogued as a floral mutation of cultivar Criolla Chica (synonym for cv. Listán Prieto). Contrary to what is observed in hermaphrodite-cultivated varieties like Criolla Chica, CCN2 exhibits a prevalence of masculinized flowers. Aiming to study the incidence and phenotypical implications of this mutation, CCN2 plants were deeply studied using Criolla Chica ‘Ballista’ (CCBA) as control plants. For each CCN2 plant, two inflorescences per shoot were sampled and segmented into proximal, mid and distal positions, relative to the pedicel. Flowers were observed through magnifying lens and classified according to OIV151 descriptor.

The advent of precision viticulture (PV) has allowed to address problems related to spatial and temporal variability at the within-field scale. Nowadays, several remote and proximal sensing solutions allow description of the existing variability at different temporal and ground resolution through extremely robust soil, vigor, yield, and grape quality maps. In parallel, numerous studies have described grapevine performances within the homogeneous zones and identified soil as main driver of variability. There is a broad consensus that different vigor zones within the same plot may show differential canopy growth, yield and fruit composition, depicting diverse enological potentials and cultural needs.

The sustainability of vineyards is a major issue. The choices proposed to date have major flaws such as the lack of scientific bases or the use of dangerous products such as copper. GiESCO has published a charter of best practices for the environment and for people adapted to various environments. The use of sustainably resistant grape varieties that produce quality wines plays a central role here. Often innovative cultivation systems associated with new technologies and based on scientific bases, guarantee respect for people and the environment. These proposals are brought together in a charter which is part of a meta-ethical approach to seeking consensual measures to ensure the sustainability of vineyards.

Clonal evaluation of winegrapes in California has not been extensive. Early selection work by Alley (1977), Olmo (unpublished data) and Goheen (personal communication) resulted in the current collection