Pour son travail de cartographie et de caractérisation des terroirs, la Cellule Terroirs Viticoles utilise la méthode développée par l’Unité Vigne et Vin du Centre INRA d’Angers. Cette méthode reconnue au niveau international est appliquée dans les vignobles du Val de Loire à l’échelle du 1/10 000e et est valorisée par des éditions d’Atlas Viticoles à destination des viticulteurs et des organismes techniques.

Seven plots located in the commune of Montigny-lès-Arsures (Jura, 39), planted with grapevine varieties Trousseau and Savagnin, were chosen for a study of soil pits and a distribution of major and trace chemical elements in soils and wines. It was shown that the mineral matrix of the soil reflects the geological substratum and the sub-surface alteration process, while the organic soil matrix depends on agro-viticultural practices.

Climate is the major factor influencing the dynamics of the vegetative cycle and can determine the timing of phenological periods. Knowledge of the phenology of varieties, their chronological duration, and thermal requirements, allows not only for the better management of interventions in the vineyard, but also to predict the varieties’ behaviour in a scenario of climate change, giving the wine producer the possibility of selecting the grape varieties that are best adapted to the climatic conditions of a certain terroir. In 2014, Symington Family Estates, Vinhos, established two grape variety libraries in two different places with distinctive climate conditions (Douro Superior, and Cima Corgo), with the commitment of contributing to a deeper agronomic and oenological understanding of some grape varieties, in hot climate conditions. In these research vineyards are represented local varieties that are important in the regional and national viticulture, but also others that have over time been forgotten — as well as five international reference cultivars. From 2017 to 2021, phenological observations have been made three times a week, following a defined protocol, to determine the average dates of budbreak, flowering and veraison. With the climate data of each location, the thermal requirements of each variety and the chronological duration of each phase have been calculated. During maturation, berry samples have been gathered weekly to study the dynamics of sugar accumulation, between other parameters. The data was analysed applying phenological and sugar accumulation models available in literature. The results obtained show significant differences between the varieties over several parameters, from the chronological duration and thermal requirements to complete the various stages of development, to the differences between the two locations, confirming the influence of the climate on phenology and the stages of maturation, in these specific conditions.

The contemporary wine sector confronts a formidable array of challenges, including burgeoning production costs and the constricted availability of natural resources. Heightened consumer awareness regarding sustainability issues further compounds these pressures, compelling companies to adopt more judicious resource utilization strategies. In response to these imperatives, there is a growing recognition of the need to overhaul production methodologies within the wine industry with a view to minimizing inputs and eliminating waste.

During wine aging, small amounts of oxygen are absorbed and initiate a cascade of oxidation reactions. These aging reactions create many products including ethylidene-bridged oligomers and polymers of endogenous polyphenols, like flavan-3ols.