Les sols du cru de Bonnezeaux, Thouarcé, Anjou, France

Until the 19th century, the wild form of cultivated grapevines (vitis vinifera l. subsp. sylvestris gmelin, v. sylvestris) was ubiquitous in many european and west asian regions. However, many factors like deforestation, the intensification of agriculture, or the introduction of several pests and pathogens decimated its presence in these growing sites, and natural populations are now mostly restricted to river-bank forests and creeks with specific soil and climate conditions. in fact, v. sylvestris is now considered an endangered subspecies that is protected by law in many european countries to prevent its loss.

Le Muscat de Frontignan est bien connu pour ses fortes teneurs en composés terpéniques et par l’odeur florale et fruitée que ces composés confèrent aux vins qui en sont issus (1,2).

Un grand nombre d’études ont été consacrées à l’évaluation quantitative des effets de climat sur la qualité des vignes, dans différents contextes climatiques. Généralement, la vocation viticole d’un terroire peut être étudiée par des approches mono ou multidisciplinaires.

In recent years, an undesirable premature “aged” character has been noticed in a growing number of young Riesling wines, associated with extreme weather conditions leading to increased radiation intensity and/ or sun exposure of grapes.

Climate change is likely to impact wine typicity across the globe, raising concerns in wine regions historically renowned for the quality of their terroir. Amongst several changes in viticultural practices, replacing some of the planting material (i.e clones, rootstocks and cultivars) is thought to be one of the most promising potential levers to be used for adapting to climate change. But the change of cultivars also involves the issue of protecting the region’s wine typicity.