Grape seed powder as an alternative to bentonite for wine fining

Temperature is a key environmental factor affecting grape primary and secondary metabolites. Even if several mesoscale studies have already been conducted on temperature
especially within a Protected Designation of Origin area, few data are available at an intra-block scale. The present study aimed at i) assessing the variability in bunch zone air temperature within a single vineyard block and the temporal stability of temperature spatial patterns, ii) understanding temperature drivers and
iii) identifying the impact of temperature on grape berry attributes.

Obiettivo generale di questo documenta è fornire un metodo di pianificazione che superi l’organizzazione delle aree rurali, ed in particolare vitate, finalizzata unicamente all’ot­timizzazione economico produttiva delle aziende, verso una pianificazione integrata degli spazi aperti.

Heatwaves or extreme heat events can be particularly harmful to agriculture. Grapevines grown in the Douro winemaking region are particularly exposed to this threat, due to the specificities of the already warm and dry climatic conditions. Furthermore, climate change simulations point to an increase in the frequency of occurrence of these extreme heat events, therefore posing a major challenge to winegrowers in the Mediterranean type climates. The current study focuses on the application of the STICS crop model to assess the potential impacts of heatwaves in grapevine yields over the Douro valley winemaking region. For this purpose, STICS was applied to grapevines using high-resolution weather, soil and terrain datasets over the Douro. To assess the impact of heatwaves, the weather dataset (1989-2005) was artificially modified, generating periods with anomalously high temperatures (+5 ºC), at certain onset dates and with specific durations (from 5 to 9 days). The model was run with this modified weather dataset and results were compared to the original unmodified runs. The results show that heatwaves can have a very strong impact on grapevine yields, strongly depending on the onset dates and duration of the heatwaves. The highest negative impacts may result in a decrease in the yield by up to -35% in some regions. Despite some uncertainties inherent to the current modelling assessment, the present study highlights the negative impacts of heatwaves on viticultural yields in the Douro region, which is critical information for stakeholders within the winemaking sector for planning suitable adaptation measures.

La superficie actuelle de l’ensemble des vignobles est de 5.293 ha qui est repartie dans 27 communes (données officielles du Conseil National des Communes de montagnes).

The vine is colonized by a multitude of micro-organisms (fungi, bacteria, oomycetes) mainly coming from the microbial reservoir constituted by the soil. These microorganisms have positive or negative effects on the vine (protection against pathogens, resistance to abiotic stress, nutrition, but also triggering of diseases) (Fournier, Pellan et al. 2022). In addition to these functional roles, they respond quickly to environmental changes (climate, cultural practices) which could make them good bioindicators of the functioning of the wine ecosystem.