MicrobiomeSupport: Towards coordinated microbiome R&I activities in the food system to support (EU and) international bioeconomy goals

Condensed tannins (CTs), polymers of flavan-3-ols, are a class of polyphenolic compounds that play a significant role in the organoleptic qualities of red wines, particularly influencing color, astringency and bitterness. These properties are highly dependent on size and structure of these compounds.

Un grand nombre de travaux ont été consacrés à la mise en éyidence et à la quantification de l’effet du climat sur la qualité de la production viticole. IIs ont permis de caractériser les grands types de production à une large échelle géographique, et d’en évaluer les variations interannuelles au niveau des millésimes.

The creation of disease-resistant varieties adapted to climate change is a key challenge for the future of the wine industry. At present, the selection of these new varieties is essentially based on screening for genetic markers of resistance and agronomic criteria, due to the small number of vines available per genotype. Integrating screening for oenological criteria into the early stages of selection would speed up this process.

It is a well-established fact that premature oxidation is noxious for wine aromatic quality and longevity. Although some oxidation-related aroma molecules have been previously identified, there are not works carrying out systematic research about the changes in the profiles of odour-active volatiles during wine oxidation.

In the Cognac region in France, Ugni blanc is the most planted grape variety (98% of the 80 500 ha). This vine region is in expansion due to the success of the associated well-known brandy and the need of high grape yield to guarrantee the production of base wine for distillation. About 2 to 3000 ha are newly planted each year and rootstocks are one powerfull tool for vineyard adaptation to soil or climate change. As rootstocks ensure water and mineral nutrient supplies to the scion, it is important to better understand their effect on berry compostionnal parameters such as sugars and nitrogen compounds, which are the main precursors for fermentary aroma metabolites, the latter being quality markers for Cognac after distillation.