Influence of a spontaneous cover crop on the vineyard and soil erosion under Mediterranean climate

Le comportement de la vigne est étroitement lié aux propriétés hydriques des sols surtout dans leurs parties profondes.

Context and purpose of the study. Intra-varietal variability for key physiological and oenologically important traits can be exploit in viticulture following the consistently higher environmental pressure driven by climate change.

Consumers’ demand for non-alcoholic wine has notably increased in the last years: this trend is a consequence of a growing interest in more healthy habits, and as a response to higher alcohol levels in wine due to climate change. In addition, drinking limitations due to physiological/pathological conditions (e.g., pregnancy, diabetes, hepatic disorders), driving regulations, ethical/religious considerations, and high import taxes on alcoholic beverages have positively influenced this marked (us$ 1.6 billion in 2021). International organisation of vine and wine (OIV) established that alcohol content defining wines must not be less than 8.5% vol, (OIV, 2017).

Chemical studies aiming at assessing how a wine reacts towards oxidation usually focus on the characterization of wine constituents, such as polyphenols, or oxidation products. As an alternative, the key oxidation intermediate hydrogen peroxide H2O2 has never been quantified, although it plays a pivotal role in wine oxidation. H2O2 is obtained from molecular oxygen as the result of a first cascade of oxidation reactions involving metal ions and polyphenols. The produced H2O2 then reacts in a second cascade of oxidation to produce reactive hydroxyl radicals that can attack almost any chemical substrate in wine.

The aim of this work is to determine the influence of viticultural and oenological factors to the aromatic potential of white wines from Colombard variety in the south west of France Gascony vineyard.