Permanent cover cropping with reduced tillage increased resiliency of wine grape vineyards to climate change

Regionality, frequently called terroir, is often used to market wines from different locations. Savatiano (Vitis Vinifera L.), is the dominant indigenous variety of the Mesogeia – Attiki region, reaching a percentage of 70% of the total vine cultivation, and being the most widely planted variety in Greece. In this context, this research focuses on the evaluation of the impact of different terroirs within the PGI Attiki zone on the aromatic profile of Savatiano.

Over the last years, the potential use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts to modulate the production of target metabolites of oenological interest has been well recognized. Among non-Saccharomyces yeasts, Starmerella bacillaris (synonym Candida zemplinina) is considered one of the most promising species to satisfy modern market and consumers preferences due to its peculiar characteristic (enhance glycerol and total acidity contents and reduce ethanol production). Mixed fermentations using Starm. bacillaris and Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter cultures represent a way to modulate metabolites of enological interest, taking advantage of the phenotypic specificities of the former and the ability of the latter to complete the alcoholic fermentation. However, the consumption of nutrients by these species and their produced metabolites may inhibit or stimulate the growth (and malolactic activity) of lactic acid bacteria (LAB).

Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir can be challenging to manage in the winery as its thin skins require careful handling to ensure sufficient extraction of wine colour to promote colour stability during ageing.1 Literature has shown that fermentation with flocculent yeasts can increase red wine colour density.2 As consumers prefer greater colour density in red wines,3 the development of tools to increase colour density would be useful for the wine industry. This research explored the impact of interspecies sequential inoculation and co-flocculation of commercial yeast on Pinot noir wine colour.

AIM: Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a non-allergenic pseudocereal with a high protein content

A foresight study was carried out by a group of experts from INRAE, universities, INAO and FranceAgriMer from 2014 as part of the multidisciplinary “laccave” project intended to anticipate climate change in the French wine industry. The initial objective was to initiate an interdisciplinary dialogue between researchers and to feed their questions in a more systemic way. The scenario development method made it possible to build possible futures for the wine sector in the face of climate change. It began by drafting four adaptation strategies, combining different possible intensities of innovation and relocation of the vineyard.