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

A soil management and vine irrigation trial was carried out for 4 consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 at agroscope’s experimental vineyard in leytron (Valais, Switzerland) with the Chasselas grape variety (clone 14-33/4, grafted on 5bb). Two types of soil maintenance (bare soil with chemical weeding and sown grass) coupled with two water regimes (with and without drip irrigation from flowering to veraison) were compared in a randomized design with four replicates of 10 vines each.

The study of wine evolution during barrel aging is an important aspect of wine quality. Our previous works have shown that wine metabolome monitoring by

1H-NMR approaches allows determining the impact of different winemaking processes including traitements using enzymes or finning agents [1].

The definition of soil health is complex due to the lack of agreement on adequate indicators and to the high variability of global soils. Nevertheless, it has been widely used as synonymous of soil quality for more than one decade, and there is a consensus warning of scientists that soil quality and biodiversity loss are occurring due to the traditional intensive agricultural practices.
In this work we monitored a set of soil parameters, both physicochemical and microbiological, in an experimental vineyard under three different management and land use systems: a) addition of external organic matter (EOM) to tilled soil; b) no tillage and plant cover between grapevine rows, and c) grapevines planted in rows running down the slope and tilled soil.

Grape growers around the world are seeking to reduce their reliance on herbicides. However, traditional alternatives to chemical weed control do not always integrate seamlessly into established vineyard operations. Employing nonchemical weed management often requires trellis alterations, purchasing or hiring new equipment, and depending on region, may significantly increase tractor passes required to reach desired level of weed control. Critical thinking and thoughtful strategies are necessary to minimize expenditures and maintain quality during the transition away from herbicides. In this trial, irrigation was installed underground in an effort to minimize water loss due to evaporation, better direct the water to the vines, and reduce weed growth in the difficult to control undervine area.

Nowadays, it is well known that oxygen significantly impacts wine quality. The amount of oxygen wine consumes during the winemaking process depends on several factors, such as storage conditions, the number of rackings, the materials used for aging, and the type of closure chosen for bottling.