Impact of temperature and solar radiation on grape composition variability in the Saint-Emilion winegrowing area 

The ongoing climate change implies an increasing mean air temperature, which is signified by weather extremes or sudden changes between drought and local heavy rainfalls. These changing conditions are especially challenging for the established grapevine varieties growing under cool climate conditions due to an increased risk for fungal diseases like downy mildew (DM) and Botrytis bunch rot (BBR) as well as for grape sunburn. To meet that demand, the scope of most grapevine breeding programs is the selection of mildew fungus-resistant and climatic adapted grapevines with balanced, healthy yield and outstanding wine quality.

Plant diseases are a major obstacle to crop production. The main approaches to battle plant diseases, consist of synthetic chemicals to attack infecting pathogens. However, concerns are increasing about the effects of chemicals in the environment, leading to an increase in the use of biocontrol agents (BCAs), due to their assets, such as, antagonism, and competition. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the introduction of Bacillus subtilis PTA-271 (Bs PTA-271) and Trichoderma atroviride SC1 (Ta SC1) produce distinctive modifications in the composition and network structure of the grapevine rhizosphere microbial community, as well as grapevine induced defenses.

The mechanization of pruning and harvesting in vineyards has increased the risk of soil compaction. To reclaim soil properties or avoid this degradation process, it is crucial to properly manage the soil organic matter, and the application of compost derived from the vines themselves is a strategy to achieve this. The objective of this study was to evaluate the properties of soil treated with different doses of compost applied both on the vine row and the inter rows of a Vitis vinifera crop.

Climate change has numerous detrimental consequences and creates new challenges for viticulture around the world. Transitory or constant high temperatures frequently associated with an excess of sunlight (UV) can cause a variety of physiological disorders, such as sunburn. Diverse environmental factors and the plant’s response mechanisms to stress determine the symptoms. Grapevine berry sunburn leads to a drastic reduction in yield, and may eventually decline berry quality. Consequently, this poses a significant risk to the winegrowers.

In Ancient Egypt, wine was a luxury product consumed mainly by the upper classes and the royal family and offered to gods in daily religious rituals in the temples.
Since the Predynastic (4000-3100 BC) period, wine jars were placed in tombs as funerary offerings. From the Old Kingdom (2680-2160 BC) to the Greco-Roman (332 BC-395 AD) period, viticulture and winemaking scenes were depicted on the private tombs’ walls. During the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC), wine jars were inscribed to indicate: vintage year, product, quality, provenance, property and winemaker’s name and title.