Somatic embryogenesis and polyploidy in grapevine: morphological shoot and leaf traits variations

Viticultural management regimes influence the soil elemental profile of a vineyard, determining the microbial community distribution, insect life, and plant biochemistry and physiology

The global consumption of wine has undergone significant changes after several years of covid-19, which was the beginning of a global crisis of the current century. This pushed some people to start looking for comfort and security as they felt that the world around them was losing these benefits. In most cases, this has led to them to idea of rethinking their lives in an attempt to live better or continuing to stay true to their habits and lifestyles despite the pressure of changes. Alcohol in any form is a part of these reactions, leading to increased consumption in the early stages of a crisis, particularly in relation to anxiety.

Dans les études des terroirs, il est souvent délicat d’établir des zonages et de mesurer les effets de l’environnement sur les vins. Avec plus d’un million d’hectares dans l’aire d’appellation délimitée, le terroir du célèbre vignoble de Cognac est bien connu pour ces eaux-de-vie et ainsi divisé en 6 crus.

The use of varieties tolerant to diseases is a long-term but promising option to reduce chemical input in viticulture. Several important breeding programs in Europe and abroad are starting to release a range of new hybrids performing well regarding fungi susceptibility and wine quality.

Effects of climate change on viticulture systems and winemaking processes are being felt across the world. The IPCC 6thAssessment Report concluded widespread and rapid changes have occurred, the scale of recent changes being unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years. These changes will continue under all emission scenarios considered, including increases in frequency and intensity of hot extremes, heatwaves, heavy precipitation and droughts. Wine companies need tools and models allowing to peer into the future and identify the moment for intervention and measures for mitigation and/or avoidance. Previously, we presented conceptual guidelines for a 5-stage framework for defining adaptation strategies for wine businesses. That framework allows for direct comparison of different solutions to mitigate perceived climate change risks. Recent global climatic evolution and multiple reports of severe events since then (smoke taint, heatwave and droughts, frost, hail and floods, rising sea levels) imply urgency in providing effective tools to tackle the multiple perceived risks. A coordinated drive towards a higher level of resilience is therefore required. Recent publications such as the Australian Wine Future Climate Atlas and results from projects such as H2020 MED-GOLD inform on expected climate change impacts to the wine sector, foreseeing the climate to expect at regional and vineyard scale in coming decades. We present examples of practical application of the Climate Change Adaptation Framework (CCAF) to impacts affecting wine production in two wine regions: Barossa (Australia) and Douro (Portugal). We demonstrate feasibility of the framework for climate adaptation from available data and tools to estimate historical climate-induced profitability loss, to project it in the future and to identify critical moments when disruptions may occur if timely measures are not implemented. Finally, we discuss adaptation measures and respective timeframes for successful mitigation of disruptive risk while enhancing resilience of wine systems.