REVINE project : regenerative agricultural approaches to improve ecosystem services in Mediterranean vineyards

Phenology scales widely adopted by viticulturists (i.e., BBCH or modified E-L systems) are classification tools that describe seasonal and precisely recognized stages of fruit growth and development based on specific descriptors such as visual/physical traits or easy-to-measure compositional parameters.

Prefermentation steps of white winemaking are very important for controlling the stability and the sensory attributes of wines. Usually musts are clarified by cold settling to prevent the start of the fermentation, before racking big lees and thus limiting the appearance of vegetable or reduction off flavour while favouring an aromatic expression with low turbidity. Besides, to reach the protein stability, some white wines further require a bentonite fining, sometimes associated with negative effects on the sensory quality. This study aims to know the impact of musts heating after pressing on a Chardonnay wine in northern conditions by comparison with a classic cold racking of the must.

Grapevine cultivars are vegetatively propagated to maintain their varietal attributes. However, spontaneous somatic variation emerges during prolonged periods of vegetative growth, providing an opportunity for the natural improvement of traditional grapevine cultivars. Notably, reduction in bunch compactness is a favorable trait in viticulture, offering advantages such as decreased susceptibility to bunch fungal diseases, and a more uniform ripening of berries. To unravel the genetic and developmental mechanisms behind bunch compactness variation, we examined a somatic variant of Tempranillo Tinto cultivar with loose bunches. We found that the mutant clone exhibits a ~50% reduction in pollen viability compared to typical Tempranillo clones.

Vine water status was measured on 96 plots of three vines inside a vineyard block of 0.28 ha during three years: 2003, 2004 and 2005. Three physiological indicators were implemented: stem water potential, carbon isotope discrimination measured on grape sugars at ripeness (δ13C) and canopy temperature measured by high resolution remote sensing. For stem water potential, measurements were taken on every single vine of each plot.

We compared 68 aroma compounds in wines from 5 vineyards in order to see similarities among the wine aroma and the scent of some of the main native plants from the respective vineyards.