Environmental sustainability in the production of grappa with the use of mould-resistant grape varieties: the aroma characterisation of distillates

Pratiquement tout le territoire d’Istrie possède les bonnes conditions naturelles pour la viticulture, laquelle dans ce lieu a une tradition millénaire. La viticulture était et reste toujours la plus importante branche de production agraire et d’économie. Les sites viticoles en Istrie sont caractérisés par des diverses conditions naturelles.

Today in the wine industry, a lot of alternatives are available for reducing phytosanitary inputs. Among these, prophylaxis, the use of biocontrol products and the deployment of pathogen-resistant vines are the most promising. eugenol (2-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl)-phenol), a molecule with recognised antifungal properties, can contribute to the last two alternatives. This molecule has been identified as an endogenous compound in the baco blanc hybrid variety used in armagnac pdo, which is at least tolerant to botrytis cinerea.

Climate change impacts regional and local climates, which in turn affects the world’s wine regions. In the short term, these modifications rises issues about maintaining quality and style of wine, and in a longer term about the suitability of grape varieties and the sustainability of traditional wine regions. Thus, adaptation to climate change represents a major challenge for viticulture. In this context, island and coastal vineyards could become coveted areas due to their specific climatic conditions. In regions subject to warming, the proximity of the sea can moderate extremes temperatures, which could be an advantage for wine. However, coastal and island areas are particular prized spaces and subject to multiple pressures that make the establishment or extension of viticulture complex.
In this perspective, it seems relevant to assess the potentialities of coastal and island areas for viticulture. This contribution will present a spatial optimization model that tends to characterize most suitable agroclimatic patterns in historical or emerging vineyards according to different scenarios. Thanks to an in-depth bibliography a global inventory of coastal and insular vineyards on a worldwide scale has been realized. Relevant criteria have been identified to describe the specificities of these vineyards. They are used as input data in the optimization process, which will optimize some objectives and spatial aspects. According to a predefined scenario, the objectives are set in three main categories associated with climatic characteristics, vineyards characteristics and management strategies. At the end of this optimization process, a series of maps presents the different spatial configurations that maximize the scenario objectives.

The wine sector plays a significant role in the international agri-food industry, with the winemaking process leading to the generation of considerable amounts of by-products. Among these by-products, grape pomace, is one of the most abundant resources, mainly finding application in the production of distillates, fertilizers, and animal feed.

With climate change, the occurrence of wildfires has increased in several viticultural regions of the world. Subsequently, smoke taint has become a major issue, threatening the sustainability of the wine industry.