The revision of the delimitation of the AOC “Champagne”

Vineyard canopy features such canopy porosity and fruit exposure influenced microclimate, fungal disease incidence and grape composition. An objective, rapid and non-invasive method to assess and map the canopy status is needed to apply in precision viticulture. A new method for canopy status assessment and mapping based on non-invasive machine vision was applied in commercial vineyards in this work.

In recent years, a pool of terpenoids possibly implicated in minty odours and in the appreciable refreshing sensation, has been identified in long aged red Bordeaux wines (Lisanti et al., 2021, Picard et al., 2016; Picard et al., 2017). These compounds were found to play a key role in the so-called “ageing bouquet”, that can be defined as “the homogeneous, harmonious flavour resulting from the complex transformation process in wine during bottle storage” (Picard et al., 2015). Moreover the minty-fresh sensory dimension in fine aged red wines plays an important role in typicity judgement by wine professionals (Picard et al., 2015).

The mechanisms behind thiol precursor accumulation in grapes remain incompletely understood, nor are the ways in which they can be improved by agronomic practices. A six-year field trial studied the physiological response of the Swiss white cultivar Vitis vinifera Arvine, rich in varietal thiols and precursors, to canopy management, i.e. leaf removal and canopy height.. Five treatments were set up in a randomized block design to assess the impacts of 1) pre-flowering LR (i.e. pre-flowering or full-flowering stages) and 2) compensating for the leaf area removed in the cluster zone by increasing the trimming height (i.e. 100 or 150 cm canopy height), compared with a non-defoliated control treatment.
Intensive pre-flowering LR severely reduced yield potential (–47% on average) and reduced the concentration of 3-mercaptohexanol precursors (P-3MH) in the must (–21%; p-value < 0.10).

Every year, viticulture is facing several outbreaks caused by established diseases, such as downy mildew and grey mould, which possess different life cycles and modes of infection. To cope with these different aggressors, grapevine must recognize them and arm itself with an arsenal of defense strategies.
The regulation of secondary metabolites is one of the first reactions of plants upon pathogen challenge. Their rapid biosynthesis can highly contribute to strengthen the defense mechanisms allowing the plant to adapt, defend and survive.

Grape and wine phenolic compounds have been shown to be highly related to both wine quality (color, flavor, and taste) and health-promoting properties (antioxidant and cardioprotective, among others). The aim of this work was to evaluate and compare the phenolic contents of Cabernet Sauvignon wines from different geographical areas and climatic conditions, namely from Argentina, Portugal and Spain vintage 2022. In addition, the phenolic profiles of the Portuguese wines from three vintages (2020, 2021, 2022) was compared.