The impact of leaf canopy management on eco-physiology, wood chemical properties and microbial communities in root, trunk and cordon of Riesling grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.)

The French “Coteaux du Layon” Appellation of Origin has built its Jarne on the production of sweet white wines. A network of experimental plots, based on the “terroir” concept, was established in 1990; it allows for the follow-up of the overripening behaviour of the grapes in relation with the agroviticultural parameters.

The acquisition of wine expertise is a multi-faceted and multisensory process with implications for sensory perception, attention, memory, and language production. With the prevalence of the predictive model of brain functioning, one area of burgeoning research interest involves wine mental imagery, since the brain relies on imagined experiences to build predictions for the future. Recent evidence has shown that, for instance, those with higher imagery vividness are more susceptible to wine advertising. However, little is known about the association between mental imagery and other associated cognitive processes, such as the ability to produce words that describe such imagery. 

Adopting disease-tolerant varieties is an efficient solution to limit environmental impacts linked to pesticide use in viticulture. In most breeding programs, these varieties are selected depending on their abilities to tolerate diseases, but little is known about their behaviour in response to abiotic constraints.

Vine water status is a crucial determinant of vine growth, productivity, fruit composition and terroir or wine style; therefore, regulating water stress is of great importance. Since vine water status depends on both soil moisture and aerial environment and is very temporally dynamic, direct measurement of vine water potential is highly preferable. Current methods only provide limited data. To regulate vine water status it is critical to monitor vine water status to be able to: (1) measure vine water status to predict the effect of water stress on the overall vineyard performance and fruit quality and optimize harvest management and wine-making (2) properly regulate the water status to impose for a desired fruit quality or style (3) determine if water management has reached the desired stress level.

Wine longevity is a complex multifactor phenomenon in which the weight of the different factors is not well known. One of the key factors of wine longevity is related to its resistance to oxidation. This property can be defined as the ability of the wine, under an exposure to oxygen, to keep its color, avoid accumulation of acetaldehyde and Strecker aldehydes (SA), and keep as long as