Mgaloblishvili Rpv29 and Rpv31 loci reveal new insights on downy mildew resistance sources in Vitis vinifera

In view of sustainability and zero-waste initiatives, the valorisation of sidestreams is a key emerging topic in the wine industry.

The pioneering work of Mandelbrot in the 70’s for building the fractal theory lead rapidly to many interesting applications in different fields such as earth sciences and economy.

Soil physical and chemical properties affect vine nutrition, as indicated by leaf and petiole nutrient content, in a way that may directly impact wine properties.

Grape harvest time is one of the most fundamental aspects that affect grape quality and thus wine quality. Many factors influence the decision of harvest; among them technological and phenolic maturity of grape. Technological ripeness is mainly related to sugar concentration, titratable acidity and pH. Conventional methods for chemical analysis of grapes are normally sample-destructive, time-consuming, include laborious sample preparation steps, and generate chemical waste, thereby limiting their utility in online/in-line quality monitoring. Moreover, destructive analyses can be performed only on a limited number of fruit pieces and, thus, their statistical relevance could be limited. This study evaluated the ability of a lab-scale hyperspectral imaging (HYP-IM) technique to predict titratable acidity, organic acid and sugar content of grapes. Samples of Cabernet franc and Chenin blanc grapes were consecutively collected six times at weekly intervals after veraison. The images were recorded thanks to the hyperspectral imaging camera Pica L (Resonon) in a spectral range from 400 to 1000 nm. Statistics were performed using Microsoft Xlstat software. Successively, the berries were analyzed for their sugar (glucose and fructose) and organic acid (malic and tartaric acid) content and titratable acidity according to usual methods.

Concerning sustainable Viticultures, the GiESCO notices the current confusion around the notions of:
– ‘integrated’ Viticulture which does not clearly set itself apart of classical so-called ‘reasoned’ Viticulture and involves series of certifications which are distinguishable with difficulty,
– ‘agro-ecological’ Viticulture which adds important elements of sustainability to ‘integrated’ Viticulture, without clarifying really the latter,
– ‘organic’ Viticulture which leans on some unbearable principles such as the opposition between chemical or natural products, with besides a frequent recourse to copper-products,
– ‘biodynamic Viticulture’ which recommends environment-friendly methods, but for very not scientifically verified.