Terroir 1996 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Eléments importants d’une méthodologie de caractérisation des facteurs naturels du terroir, en relation avec la réponse de la vigne à travers le vin

Eléments importants d’une méthodologie de caractérisation des facteurs naturels du terroir, en relation avec la réponse de la vigne à travers le vin

Abstract

The French viticultural appellation areas are the result of an empirical, historical and evolutionary selection which, generally, has consecrated a match between natural factors, grape varieties and viti-vinicultural practices. The notion of terroir is the main basis of the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée in viticulture. It is based on the one hand on privileged natural factors and on the other hand on the know-how of the winegrowers; the whole allowing the production of a wine endowed with an authenticity and a sensory typicity. Wine-growing practices evolve according to progress in viticulture and oenology, while the natural factors of the terroir are much more stable, with the exception of the vintage. They therefore represent a fundamental pillar of the identity of an appellation vineyard. Faced with a wine market that is globalizing and an evolution of the consumer, the “terroir” factor takes on a new dimension, becoming an important commercial vector for many vineyards.

Scientific approaches to this theme have been relatively limited, due to the complexity of the problem concerning the variables to be studied, their chain of influence and the overall response of the vine to the terroir, through wine (Riou et al., 1995 ). An AOC most often applies to a wine-growing region whose surface area is sufficient for the expression, in most cases, of a large-scale spatial diversity of the natural environment (terroir units) which can lead to significant differences in the kind of wine..

An economic valuation of this factor of production therefore requires a method that can easily reveal and identify the units of terroir of a region, but also give them a spatial dimension, to allow a concrete use by the winegrowers, at the level of wine and agro-viticultural techniques.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: March 25, 2022

Type: Poster

Issue: Terroir 1996

Authors

R. MORLAT

I.N.R.A. U.R.V.V.
42, rue Georges Morel. 49071 Angers. France

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 1996

Citation

Related articles…

How to resolve the lack acidity in wines by better understanding of the adequation of grape varietal-terroir: Negrette grape in the terroir of Côtes du Frontonnais

Le manque d’acidité des vins est un sujet préoccupant dans de nombreux vignobles car l’acidité est un facteur déterminant de la qualité des vins, en liaison avec la nutrition minérale de la vigne.

Read More

Low and zero alcohol “wines”: impact of different dealcoholization processes on phenol profile and health benefits

Consumers’ demand for non-alcoholic wine has notably increased in the last years: this trend is a consequence of a growing interest in more healthy habits, and as a response to higher alcohol levels in wine due to climate change. In addition, drinking limitations due to physiological/pathological conditions (e.g., pregnancy, diabetes, hepatic disorders), driving regulations, ethical/religious considerations, and high import taxes on alcoholic beverages have positively influenced this marked (us$ 1.6 billion in 2021). International organisation of vine and wine (OIV) established that alcohol content defining wines must not be less than 8.5% vol, (OIV, 2017).

Read More

La place du terroir dans le processus de patrimonialisation : l’exemple des paysages culturels viticoles du patrimoine mondial de l’Unesco

Eleven wine-growing sites are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Cultural Landscapes. If the viticultural character of these sites constitutes the main argument for the demonstration of their heritage value, the terroir and its biophysical and environmental characteristics tend however to appear in a minor mode compared to the aesthetic and cultural dimensions. In other words, the “specific characteristics of the soil, topography, climate, landscape and biodiversity” (OIV definition) are most often used as descriptive elements in the presentation of the sites, but it is more the aesthetic, historical,

Read More

Study of yeast biocatalytic activity on grape aroma compounds

Many volatile compounds of different chemical/biochemical origin contribute to wine aroma. Certain key ‘varietal’ aroma compounds such as methoxypyrazines are formed in the grape and appear to be only scarcely influenced by fermentation.

Read More

Why aren’t farmers using precision viticulture frequently? A case study

n the last years, viticulture precision tools have been made available for farmers for different crops. The feeling that these tools are mandatory on an agriculture of the future have been disseminated by commercial entities but also from policy makers.

Read More