From the “climats de Bourgogne” to the terroir in bottles

“Pinking” is a term used to define an abnormal pink coloration assumed by white wines in certain cases. Despite the are many hypotheses about the causes of this phenomenon, pinking still represents an issue for the wine industry. In the absence of reliable preventive strategies, wineries often rely on treatments such as charcoal fining, which is also negatively impacting wine aroma. This study aims at evaluating the potential of different fining agents based on animal or vegetal proteins to prevent wine pinking when applied at the level of must clarification. The work was carried out on Lugana wines, which is well-recognised as sensible to pinking problems. METHODS: Two experimental Lugana musts were obtained by applying a standard winemaking protocol and were then clarified with different commercial preparations based on vegetal proteins or casein, alone or in combination with PVPP. A control only using pectolytic enzyme was also prepared. Finings were carried out at 4°C for 16h, and the clear must (200 NTU) was then fermented in controlled conditions.

The evolution of cultivated plants played important role in the ascent of humanity. Research of their origin and evolution started at the beginning of the20th century, but till nowadays a lot of questions remain open. A large number of theories exist about the evolution of the European grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). The Vitis sylvestris GMEL. in Hungary is a protected species.

In a recent study several genes controlling the acidification properties of the wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been identified by a QTL approach [1]. Many of these genes showed allelic variations that affect the metabolism of malic acid and the pH homeostasis during the alcoholic fermentation. Such alleles have been used for driving genetic selection of new S. cerevisiae starters that may conversely acidify or deacidify the wine by producing or consuming large amount of malic acid [2]. This particular feature drastically modulates the final pH of wine with difference of 0.5 units between the two groups.

Esca, a severe trunk disease affecting vineyards, is caused by fungal pathogens that induce wood necrosis and decay, leaf symptoms, yield losses, and potentially a rapid death of the vine. The prevalence of this disease varies across years, regions, cultivars, and plot ages. Despite its significance in understanding and predicting dieback risk in different vineyards, the role of climate in trunk diseases remains a relatively unexplored research area. While some studies have demonstrated the impact of certain climatic conditions on the prevalence of the disease, they often focus on a limited number of plots and yield conflicting results.We conducted a statistical analysis, using a Bayesian approach on a national database comprising prevalence data of esca from over 500 different plots in France, spanning the years 2003 to 2022 and encompassing various cultivars.

Bud death due to cold damage is a recurrent and major economic issue with Vitis vinifera L. in the Northeastern U.S. winegrowing regions. Primary buds – and sometimes secondary and tertiary buds – are often damaged by fluctuating temperatures in the winter and early spring. To maintain balanced vegetative and reproductive growth of a vine, pruning practices need to be adjusted to account for bud damage. Conventional bud damage assessment requires growers to sample canes/spurs, cut nodes with a razor blade, and then visually assess bud damage. This process is laborious and becomes a major barrier for damage-compensated pruning decision-making, leading to too few live buds per vine and the associated excessive vigor and low yield that result. The overarching goal of this study was to develop an active thermographic system for non-destructive detection of bud damage in the vineyard.