A.O.C. taureau de Camargue

In the context of global warming, water scarcity is becoming an increasing issue worldwide. However, the reference method to characterize vine water deficit is based on water potential measurement, which is a destructive and discontinuous method. The current climatic context emphasizes the need for more precise and more continuous vineyard water use measurements in order to optimize irrigation and vine water deficit monitoring.

In recent years, the use of amphorae in winemaking has become more frequent, symbolizing a return to the origins of vinification to broaden the availability of wines with different style.

To alter the vineyard microclimate and produce quality wine under a semi-arid climate, black geotextile inter-row mulch (M) was applied for two vintages (2016-2017). The grapes were sampled at three growing stages to conduct the untargeted metabolome and transcriptome analysis. The upregulated genes related to photosynthesis and heat shock proteins confirmed that M weakened the total light exposure and grapes suffered severe heat stress, resulting in lower sugar and higher acids at harvest. The integration of metabolome and transcriptome analysis identified the key genes responsible for the enhancements in phenylalanine, glutamine, ornithine, arginine, and C6 alcohol concentrations, and the downward trend in ε-viniferin, anthocyanins, flavonols, terpenes and norisoprenoids concentrations in M grapes.

Drought is one of the most challenging threats for viticulture because of its impact on reducing yield and on the composition of grapes.

Stilbenes, a kind of non-flavonoid phenolic compounds, have been reported to be responsible for various beneficial effects. Their biological properties include antibacterial and antifungal effects, as well as cardioprotective, neuroprotective and anticancer actions (Guerrero et al. 2009).Several strategies can be used to increase stilbene content in grapes and one of them could be the use of elicitors such as methyl jasmonate. The use of this elicitor has been proven to be efficient in the production of secondary metabolites which increases the quality of wines, but its use also has some drawbacks such as its low water solubility, high volatility, and its expensive cost (Gil-Muñoz et al. 2021).