Vineyards and grape varieties: what is going on in wine professional and consumer minds?

In this video recording of the IVES science meeting 2021, Benjamin Bois (Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin – IUVV, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France) speaks about zoning the climatic potentialities and risk of vineyards & wine production regions. This presentation is based on an original article accessible for free on OENO One

Conventional viticulture improved the quality of production, but the economic costs can be unsustainable. Today, producers need to consider consumers’ demands for healthy, eco-friendly products. Institutions promote sustainable agriculture, with regenerative agriculture being the latest generation of methodologies focused on recovering losses and ensuring future sustainability. The revine project studies regenerative agricultural technology applied in mediterranean countries to provide precise indications for soil processing and effective vineyard treatments.

Climate change impacts on both yields and quality have increased over the past decades, with the effects of extreme climate events having the most dramatic and obvious impacts. Increasing length and intensity of heatwaves associated with increased water stress necessitates a reevaluation of climate change responses of grapevine and, ultimately, a reconsideration of vineyard management practices under future conditions. Here we summarize results from a three-year field trial manipulating irrigation prior to and during heatwave events to assess impacts of water application rates on vine health and physiology, berry chemistry, and wine quality. We also highlight potential mitigation strategies for extreme heat, both in terms of water application, as well as other cultural practices that could be widely applicable.

Viticulture has spread to unexpected locations, such as high-altitude terrain. Among these, high-altitude viticulture has captured considerable attention, not only for the uniqueness of its products and landscapes but also because it offers an effective response to climate changes
The aim of this study is to analyse and compare wineries that used Piwi varieties (acronym for the German Pilzwiderstandfähig, i.e., cryptogame-resistant) at high altitudes (between 500 and 920 m a.s.l.) with the traditional non-mountainous viticulture model.

Rotundone is the main aroma compound responsible for peppery notes in red wine. This positive and very potent molecule has an odor threshold of 8 ng/L in water and 16 ng/L in red wine. It has been detected in several grape varieties with some of the highest concentrations recorded in Syrah, Duras, Tardif and Noiret, an interspecific hybrid grown in the North-East of the USA. If several winemaking practices have been identified to lower rotundone in wine, up to date, no enological solution has proved its efficiency to maximize it. This means that efforts to produce high rotundone wines must be undertaken in vineyards. This work provides practical ways that can be used by winegrowers to modulate rotundone levels in their wines.