Disease-resistant hybrid grape cultivars (DRHGCs) are hybrids of Vitis vinifera varieties with other Vitis species, and they are endowed with greater resistance to specific fungal diseases, enabling a potential reduction in the application of pesticides in the vineyard.

Late spring frost is a major challenge for various winegrowing regions across the world, its occurrence often leading to important yield losses and/or plant failure. Despite a significant increase in minimum temperatures worldwide, the spatial and temporal evolution of spring frost risk under a warmer climate remains largely uncertain. Recent projections of spring frost risk for viticulture in Europe throughout the 21st century show that its evolution strongly depends on the model approach used to simulate budburst. Furthermore, the frost damage modelling methods used in these projections are usually not assessed through comparison to field observations and/or frost damage reports.
The present study aims at comparing frost risk projections simulated using six spring frost models based on two approaches: a) models considering a fixed damage threshold after the predicted budburst date (e.g BRIN, Smoothed-Utah, Growing Degree Days, Fenovitis) and b) models considering a dynamic frost sensitivity threshold based on the predicted grapevine winter/spring dehardening process (e.g. Ferguson model). The capability of each model to simulate an actual frost event for the Vitis vinifera cv. Chadonnay B was previously assessed by comparing simulated cold thermal stress to reports of events with frost damage in Chablis, the northernmost winegrowing region of Burgundy. Models exhibited scores of κ > 0.65 when reproducing the frost/non-frost damage years and an accuracy ranging from 0.82 to 0.90.
Spring frost risk projections throughout the 21st century were performed for all winegrowing subregions of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté under two CMIP5 concentration pathways (4.5 and 8.5) using statistically downscaled 8×8 km daily air temperature and humidity of 13 climate models. Contrasting results with region-specific spring frost risk trends were observed. Three out of five models show a decrease in the frequency of frost years across the whole study area while the other two show an increase that is more or less pronounced depending on winegrowing subregion. Our findings indicate that the lack of accuracy in grapevine budburst and dehardening models makes climate projections of spring frost risk highly uncertain for grapevine cultivation regions.

The light exposure of wine can be detrimental as a relevant loss of aromas takes place [1] and light-induced reactions can occur. The latter involves riboflavin (RF), a photosensitive compound, that is fully reduced by acquiring two electrons. When the electron-donor is methionine, the light-struck taste (LST) can appear leading to cooked cabbage, onion and garlic odours-like [2]. The use of oenological tannins can limit the appearance of LST in both model wine [3] and white wine [4]. This research aimed to evaluate the impact of certain oenological tannins, selected in a previous study as the most effective against LST [5], in both white and rosé wines.

The vineyards extending between the hillslopes of ‘Apremont’ and ‘Les Marches’ that dominate the valley of Chambéry (Savoie, French Alps) define the terroir of the ‘Vins des Abymes’.

Rootstocks not only provide tolerance to Phylloxera, but also ensure the supply of water and mineral nutrients to the whole plant. Rootstocks are an important way of adapting to environmental conditions while conserving the typical features of scion varieties. We can exploit the large diversity of rootstocks used worldwide to aid this adaptation. The aim of this study was to characterise rootstock regulation of scion mineral status and its relation with scion development.