Climate change projections in serbian wine-growing regions

The aim of this ongoing study is to evaluate the degree of adaptability of grapevine scion:rootstock combinations to different conditions of water constraint. Here we present results from the young vine development phase, using three scenarios of water constraint that were implemented from planting. The experimental vineyard was established in 2020 and the data presented will cover the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons. The experiment consisted of the cultivars Pinotage (PIN), Shiraz (SHI) and Cabernet Sauvignon (CAB), grafted on two rootstocks, Richter 110 (R110) and USVIT-8-7 (US87).

Wine quality may be compromised by mouldy off‒flavours related to cork taint. Although different compounds are considered to be involved in this wine defect, haloanisoles (HAs), and among them the 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), are claimed as the main responsible.

Le “terroir” est dans tous les discours, les articles, les étiquettes et les publicités. Le voca­ble est en situation d’utilisation euphorique. Indiscutablement l’emploi historique est agri­cole, puis viticole, mais il n’est jamais juridique.

Bottle ageing is a critical period for wine quality, as it undergoes various chemical and sensory changes during storage. Ideally, a phase of qualitative ageing, during which wine sensory quality improves, is followed by a decline of quality. Understanding how different oenological variables influence these phases is a key challenge in modern winemaking. Recent studies highlighted the significant role of oxygen in modulating reactions involving volatile and non-volatile components, impacting aroma evolution during bottle aging. Oxygen exposure of wine during bottle ageing is mediated by closure.

With contemporary climate change, cultivated Vitis vinifera L. is at risk as climate is a critical component in defining ecologically fitted plant materiel. While winegrowers can draw on the rich diversity among grapevine varieties to limit expected impacts (Morales-Castilla et al., 2020), replacing a signature variety that has created a sense of local distinctiveness may lead to several challenges. In order to sustain wine identity in uncertain climate outcomes, the study of intra-varietal diversity is important to reflect the adaptive and evolutionary potential of current cultivated varieties. The aim of this ongoing study is to understand to what extent can intra-varietal diversity be a climate change adaptation solution. With a focus on early (Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Grolleau, Pinot noir) to moderate late (Chenin, Petit Verdot, Cabernet franc) ripening varieties, data was collected for flowering and veraison for the various studied accessions (from conservatory plots) and clones. For these phenological growing stages, heat requirements were established using nearby weather stations (adapted from the GFV model, Parker et al., 2013) and model performances were verified. Climate change projections were then integrated to predict the future behaviour of the intra-varietal diversity. Study findings highlight the strong phenotypic diversity of studied varieties and the importance of diversification to enhance climate change resilience. While model performances may require improvements, this study is the first step towards quantifying heat requirements of different clones and how they can provide adaptation solutions for winegrowers to sustain local wine identity in a global changing climate. As genetic diversity is an ongoing process through point mutations and epigenetic adaptations, perspective work is to explore clonal data from a wide variety of geographic locations.