Teasing apart terroir: the influence of management style on native yeast communities within Oregon wineries and vineyards

A worrying drop in the acidity of wines has been observed in many wine regions, such as Bordeaux (Merlot), Burgundy (Pinot Noir), Côtes-du-Rhône (Grenache) or Rioja (Tempranillo). This lack of acidity is particularly marked in the Midi-Pyrenean vineyards of the Côtes du Frontonnais (Tournier, 1993). However, the acidity of a wine is one of the main factors of its quality, in fact, a low acidity combined with an insufficient tannic structure leads to rapid oxidation of wines and makes them age prematurely.

Conventional viticulture improved the quality of production, but the economic costs can be unsustainable. Today, producers need to consider consumers’ demands for healthy, eco-friendly products. Institutions promote sustainable agriculture, with regenerative agriculture being the latest generation of methodologies focused on recovering losses and ensuring future sustainability. The revine project studies regenerative agricultural technology applied in mediterranean countries to provide precise indications for soil processing and effective vineyard treatments.

Probably one of the most counterintuitive impacts of climate change on vine is the increased frequency of late frost. Champagne, due to its septentrional position is historically and regularly affected by this meteorological hazard. Champagne has therefore developed a strong experience in frost protection with first experiments dating from the end of 19th century. Frost protection can be divided in two parts: passive and active. Passive protection includes all the methods that do not seek to modify the vine’s environment or resistance at the time of frost. The most iconic passive protection in Champagne is the establishment of the individual reserve. This reserve allows to stock a certain quantity of clear wine during a surplus year to compensate a meteorological hazard like frost during the following years. Other common passive methods are the control of planting area (walls, bushes, topography), the choice of grape variety, late pruning, or the impact of grass cover and tillage. Active frost protection is also divided in two parts. Most of the existing techniques tend to modify vine’s environment. Most of the time they provide warmth (candles, heaters, windmills, heating cables…), or stabilise bud’s temperature above a lethal threshold (water sprinkling). The other way to actively fight is to enhance the resistance of buds to frost (elicitors). The Comité Champagne evaluates frost protection methods following three main axes: the efficiency, the profitability, and the environmental impact through a lifecycle assessment. This study will present the results on both passive and active protection following these three axes.

The demand for dealcoholized wine has been progressively increasing in recent years. Moreover, the attention for such products is probably increasing even more. Due to that increasing demand and market awareness the legal authorities are about changing rules for that products. Also, at OIV level, these products are being intensively discussed for certain time. The production of dealcoholized wine bases on wine as initial product. This wine is then reduced by physical methods to an alcohol content of less than 0.5% vol., or in other words, to less than 4g/l of alcohol. There are various technologies are possible for producing dealcoholized wine (Schmitt and Christmann 2019).

Context and purpose of the study. Rising temperatures and prolonged heat accelerate berry sugar accumulation in advance of the accumulation of compounds responsible for aroma, colour and mouthfeel.