Profiling the Metschnikowia yeast populations in spontaneous fermentation of Amarone della Valpolicella

Irrigation of vineyards is a matter of controversial arguments at areas of high quality wine production. Besides, the effects of the water in the plant are closer related to the water availability than to the irrigation regime.

Wine production is a complex multi-step process and the end-product is not easily defined in terms of composition and quality due to the diversity of the raw materials (grapes) and the biological agents (yeast and bacteria) used/present during the fermentation. Furthermore, linking what happens in the vineyard to the wine fermentation and ultimately to characteristics in the wine during ageing

Winegrowing regions recognized as protected designations of origin (PDOs) are closely tied to well defined geographic locations with a specific set of pedoclimatic attributes and strictly regulated by legal specifications. However, climate change is increasingly threatening these regions by changing local conditions and altering winegrowing processes. The vulnerability to these changes is largely heterogenous across different winegrowing regions because it is determined by individual characteristics of each region, including the capacity to adapt to new climatic conditions and the sensitivity to climate change, which depend not only on natural, but also socioeconomic and legal factors. Accurate vulnerability assessments therefore need to combine information about adaptive capacity and climate change sensitivity with projected exposure to new climatic conditions. However, most existing studies focus on specific impacts neglecting important interactions between the different factors that determine climate change vulnerability. Here, we present the first comprehensive vulnerability assessment of European wine PDOs that spatially combines multiple indicators of adaptive capacity and climate change sensitivity with high-resolution climate projections. We found that the climate change vulnerability of PDO areas largely depends on the complex interactions between physical and socioeconomic factors. Homogenous topographic conditions and a narrow varietal spectrum increase climate change vulnerability, while the skills and education of farmers, together with a good economic situation, decrease their vulnerability. Assessments of climate change consequences therefore need to consider multiple variables as well as their interrelations to provide a comprehensive understanding of the expected impacts of climate change on European PDOs. Our results provide the first vulnerability assessment for European winegrowing regions at high spatiotemporal resolution that includes multiple factors related to climate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity on the level of single winegrowing regions. They will therefore help to identify hot spots of climate change vulnerability among European PDOs and efficiently direct adaptation strategies.

Il settore primario, ed in particolare quello agricolo, sta attraversando un periodo partico­larmente delicato. Sia gli aspetti della produzione che quelli della commercializzazione ven­gono infatti messi in discussione da nuovi indirizzi economici e tecnologici.

STICS est un modèle de culture développé à l’INRA (France) depuis 1996. Il simule les bilans de carbone, d’eau et d’azote dans le système culture-sol, piloté par des données climatiques journaliéres. Il calcule à la fois des variables agricoles (rendement en quantité et qualité) et environnementales (pertes en eau et en azote). Une des originalités de STICS est son adaptabilité à de nombreuses cultures (herbacées, ligneuses, annuelles, pérennes) rendue possible par le choix de paramètres génériques et d’options de formalismes. Le travail présenté traite, dans un premier temps, des spécificités de STICS pour la vigne en terme de bilan trophique, de fonctionnement énergétique et hydrique et d’estimation des teneurs en sucre en en eau du raisin. Nous montrons ensuite diverses sorties du modèle qui permettent de caractériser des terroirs du vignoble des Côtes du Rhône.