Can the use of rootstocks enhance terroir?

Climate is a pervasive factor in the success of all agricultural systems, influencing whether a crop is suitable to a given region, largely controlling crop production and quality

Grapevine yield is a key indicator to assess the impacts of climate change and the relevance of adaptation strategies in a vineyard landscape. At this scale, a yield model should use a number of parameters and input data in relation to the information available and be able to reproduce vineyard management decisions (e.g. soil and canopy management, irrigation). In this study, we used data from six experimental sites in Southern France (cv. Syrah) to calibrate a model of grapevine yield limited by water constraint (GraY). Each yield component (bud fertility, number of berries per bunch, berry weight) was calculated as a function of the soil water availability simulated by the WaLIS water balance model at critical phenological phases. The model was then evaluated in 10 grapegrowers’ plots, covering a diversity of biophysical and technical contexts (soil type, canopy size, irrigation, cover crop). We identified three critical periods for yield formation: after flowering on the previous year for the number of bunches and berries, around pre-veraison and post-veraison of the same year for mean berry weight. Yields were simulated with a model efficiency (EF) of 0.62 (NRMSE = 0.28). Bud fertility and number of berries per bunch were more accurately simulated (EF = 0.90 and 0.77, NRMSE = 0.06 and 0.10, respectively) than berry weight (EF = -0.31, NRMSE = 0.17). Model efficiency on the on-farm plots reached 0.71 (NRMSE = 0.37) simulating yields from 1 to 8 kg/plant. The GraY model is an original model estimating grapevine yield evolution on the basis of water availability under future climatic conditions.  It allows to evaluate the effects of various adaptation levers such as planting density, cover crop management, fruit/leaf ratio, shading and irrigation, in various production contexts.

Right after serving a sparkling wine into a glass, thousands of rising and bursting bubbles convey gas-phase CO2 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace above the champagne surface, thus progressively modifying the gaseous chemical space perceived by the consumer [1].

S’intende per Piano Regolatore delle Città del Vino la metodologia per redigere la parte strutturale dello strumento comunale di governo del territorio. Parliamo, infatti, del principale strumento comunale di governo del territorio, così come è venuto maturando nella riflessione delle Città del Vino, strumento che si misura con la sfida di governare tutto il territorio in modo coerente e sostenibile, a partire dal riconoscimento del valore del “sistema vigneto” e della sua intrinseca fragilità.

Climate change, with rise in temperatures, is leading to an advance in the dates of phenological stages, with a loss in quality of the grape final product. Therefore, the understanding of the genetic determinants driving the phenological stages of flowering, veraison and the interval between them, represents a target for the development of grapevine’s cultivar adapted to the changing environment.
Here we conducted a GWA study to identify SNPs significantly associated to flowering time, veraison time and to the interval among them. A germplasm collection (CREA-VE in Susegana, Treviso, Italy) including 649 grapevine’s cultivar representing 365 unique genotypes was considered.