Can the use of rootstocks enhance terroir?

Bottle ageing is considered essential for most premium red wine production. An important aim of bottle ageing of wine is to achieve a balance between the oxidative and reductive development. This is typically evaluated by the accumulation of aldehyde compounds (causing oxidative off-flavour) and sulfur-containing compounds (causing reductive off-flavour) in the wine [1]

Context description and research question: an increasing number of farmers are considering the impact of conservation practices on soil health to guide sustainable management of vineyards. Understanding impacts of soil management on soil organic carbon (SOC) is one lever for adoption of agroecological practice with potential to help maintain or improve soil health while building SOC stocks to mitigate climate change (Amelung et al., 2020).

Malic acid has a strong impact on wine pH and the contribution of fermenting yeasts to modulate its concentration has been intensively investigated in the past. Recent advances in yeast genetics have shed light on the unexpected property of some strains to produce large amounts of malic acid (“acidic strains”) while most of the wine starters consume it during the alcoholic fermentation. Being a key metabolite of the central carbohydrate metabolism, malic acid participates to TCA and glyoxylate cycles as well as neoglucogenesis. Although present at important concentrations in grape juice, the metabolic fate of malic acid has been poorly investigated.

AIM: Biofilm is a resistance mechanism deployed by microorganisms to adapt to stresses, leading to their persistence in the environment. In the case of Brettanomyces bruxellensis, a wine spoilage yeast, knowledge about its capacity to form biofilm remains limited although this potential strategy could explain its recurring presence in cellars.

Pendant une période de trois années le comportement productif et qualitatif de trois cépages tous indigènes de la région de Campania (Italie méridionale) dans deux terroirs de l’île d’Ischia a été étudié; ceci pour obtenir quelques indications préliminaires sur le comportement productif et qualitatif des cépages et sur la qualité des vins.