High-power ultrasound for improving chromatic characteristics in wines. Does a varietal effect exist?

Air temperature is the key driver of grapevine phenology and a significant environmental factor impacting yield and quality for a winegrape growing region. In this study the optimal downscaled CMIP5 ensemble for computing thegrowing season average temperature (GST) viticulture climate classification index was determined to spatially compute on a decadal basis predictions of the GST climate index and the grapevine sugar ripeness (GSR) model for Pinot Noir throughout the Willamette Valley (WV) American Viticultural Area (AVA). Forecasts for average temperature and a 220 g/L target sugar concentration level were computed using daily Localized Constructed Analogs (LOCA) downscaled CMIP5 historic and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) future climate projections of minimum and maximum daily temperature. We explore spatiotemporal trends of the GST climate classification index and Pinot Noir specific applications of the GSR phenology model for the WV AVA. Spatiotemporal computations of the GST climate index and Pinot Noir specific applications of the GSR model enable the opportunity to explore relationships between their computed values with one intent being to provide updated GST ranges that better align with current temperature-based modeling understanding of Pinot Noir grapevine phenology and the viticultural application of LOCA CMIP5 climate projections for the WV AVA. The Pinot Noir specific applications of the GSR model or the GST index with updated bounds indicate that the percent of the WV AVA area suitable for Pinot Noir production is currently at or near its peak value in the upper 80s to lower 90s of this century.

homogeneous zones by intersecting several partial zonings of major factors that influence vineyard growth. Each of them follows specific process from their corresponding disciplines. Soil zoning specifically refers to a Soil Resource Inventory map that has traditionally been generated by conventional soil mapping methods. These methods have shortcomings in reaching fine cartographic and categorical details and involve significant expenses, which undermines their applicability. A new framework named Digital Soil Mapping has introduced quantitative models by statistical techniques to establish soil-landscape relationships and is able to provide intensive scale cartography.

In the present study, a microzoning at 1:10.000 scale is generated from an initial zoning, where the conventional soil map with polytaxic map units is replaced by a new one from digital techniques that disaggregates them. The comparison between the zonings considers a quantitative evaluation of capability for each Homogeneous Terroir Unit by means of the Viticultural Quality Index and its categorization based on its distribution by map. The spatial intersection of both maps gives rise to a confusion matrix in which the flows of class variations after the substitution are assessed.

The results show a five-fold increase in the number of Homogeneous Terroir Units identified and a larger differentiation among them, evidenced by a wider range in the capability index distribution. Both elements are accompanied by an increase in the detection of areas of higher potential within previously undervalued uniform zones.These features are a direct effect of the improvements brought by Digital Soil Mapping techniques and would verify the advantages of their implementation in the Integrated Terroir zoning. Eventually, such new highly detailed terroir units would benefit precision viticulture and sustainable management practices.

Plus de la moitié du vignoble suisse (14’000 ha) est situé sur des coteaux en forte pente (> 30%). Dans certains vignobles, la pente naturelle du terrain a été réduite par la construction de terrasses soutenues par des murs.

Agroecology is an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to redesign and manage food and agricultural systems, promoting agroecosystems with the necessary biological, socio-economic, and institutional diversity and alignment to support greater efficiency. Thus, several studies have been carried out at promoting the adoption of more agroecological practices among farmers and a wider audience concerning soil conservation and health maintenance.

Genetic variants known to produce single residue missense mutations have been associated with phenotypic traits of commercial interest in grapevine. This is the case of the K284N substitution in VviDXS1 associated with muscat aroma, or the R197L in VviAGL11 causing stenospermocarpic seedless grapes. The impact of such mutations on protein structure, stability, dynamics, interactions, or functional mechanism can be studied by computational methods, including our pyDock scoring, previously developed. For this, knowledge on the 3D structure of the protein and its complexes with other proteins and biomolecules is required, but such knowledge is not available for virtually none of the proteins and complexes in grapevine.