Decline of new vineyards in Southern Spain

Les fromages d’Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) représentent un enjeu économique important pour la filière laitière (11 % des fromages produits en France sont des fromages d’AOC, et dans certaines régions de montagne, cette proportion dépasse 50 %). Les spécificités de ces fromages et leurs liaisons avec les caractéristiques du terroir constituent un système complexe où interagissent en particulier la technologie fromagère et les caractéristiques des laits (composition chimique en particulier). Ces dernières dépendent elles-mêmes des caractéristiques des animaux (origine génétique, facteurs physiologiques, état sanitaire) et de leur mode de conduite (alimentation, hygiène, traite…) (fig. 1). L’influence de ces facteurs de production (alimentation et type d’animal en particulier) sur les caractéristiques des fromages est fréquemment mise en avant par les fromagers, sur la base d’observations empiriques. Il existe cependant très peu de travaux expérimentaux sur le sujet, en raison, entre autres, de la difficulté de séparer correctement les effets propres de ces facteurs d’amont de ceux liés à la technologie fromagère.

Aim of the study was to investigate the metabolomic differences between Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon wines, divided according to their quality in two main groups: “Varietal” and “Premium”, and to point out metabolites tentative markers of their chemical signature and sensorial quality. Initially, 150 (50 x 3 biological replicates) experimental wines were produced by the same semi-industrial process, which covered 8 different Chilean valleys. The wine classification made by experts, divided the wines into two major groups (“Varietal” and “Premium”) and four subgroups (two for each major group). All the samples were analyzed according to a robust LC-MS based untargeted work-flow (Arapitsas et al 2018), and the proposed minimum reporting standards for chemical analysis of the Metabolomics Standards Initiative (Sumner et al 2007)

This multidisciplinary study investigates “”Vitivoltaics,”” where photovoltaic (PV) panels are integrated into vineyard systems to generate renewable energy while providing partial shade to grapevines.

Vineyard water availability is one of the most important variables both in plant’s production and wine quality, once it regulates several processes, among which the stomata activity. To avoid water deficit, wine producers introduced artificial irrigation in their vineyard, using a semi-empirical process to calculate water amount.

I performed my PhD in grapevine physiology under the supervision of Dr. H. Medrano, standing in the vineyards from pre-dawn to sunrise during many hot, wet and sunny days with my colleagues J.M.E. and J.B. I also spent many days and nights facing ticks year-round working in Mediterranean macchias with J.Gu. and M.M. Later I was able to supervise PhD students on grapevines – like A.P. and M.T. – and on Mediterranean vegetation – like J.Gal. With the incorporation to the group of M.R.-C. ‘the puzzle’ was completed and, combining the aforementioned studies, we could conclude (more than 20 years ago) things like: (1) stomatal conductance is the best proxy for ‘water stress’ in studies on photosynthesis; (2) steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence retrieves photosynthesis under saturating light; (3) photoinhibition is not a major photosynthetic limitation under water stress; (4) mesophyll conductance instead is; and (5) mesophyll conductance is a major driver of leaf water use efficiency.