Terroir 2012 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2012 9 Ancient and recent construction of Terroirs 9 Historical reconquest of hillslopes by the “Vins des Abymes” after the collapse of Mont Granier in 1248 (Savoie, France)

Historical reconquest of hillslopes by the “Vins des Abymes” after the collapse of Mont Granier in 1248 (Savoie, France)

Abstract

The vineyards extending between the hillslopes of ‘Apremont’ and ‘Les Marches’ that dominate the valley of Chambéry (Savoie, French Alps) define the terroir of the ‘Vins des Abymes’. The particularity of this terroir is directly related to the chaotic morphology of the hillslopes formed by one of the largest landslides ever to occur in the Alps. In November 1248, the collapse of the Mont Granier cliff, which lost nearly 900 m in height, caused the displacement of more than 500 million m3 of mud and rocks extending downslope over about 30 km2. This landslide entirely ‘reset’ the soils of the original hillslopes, but also generated chaotic morphologies (locally called ‘mollards’), over which vine stocks have been planted.
Even if vine-growing was attested before 1248, the terroir of the ‘Vins des Abymes’ is specific to the soils affected by the landslide which therefore only existed after 1248.

These hillslopes remained abandoned until the early fourteenth century, and were then gradually occupied by agricultural activities and by vine-growing. The study of the construction of this terroir is made possible by the first modern cadastral survey, ‘La mappe sarde’, an exceptional document drawn up in the then Kingdom of Savoy, in 1713. It shows the extension of the vineyards in the early eighteenth century and confirms that territorial organization is linked to wine-growing practices. It also highlights the presence of many temporary shelters scattered throughout the vineyard, called ‘sartos’ and shows that the geometry of the plots and the road network are adapted to the rugged slopes. The history of the construction of this landscape gives a strong identity to this terroir, from both geological and human perspectives.

DOI:

Publication date: August 26, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2012

Type: Article

Authors

Fanny BIASINI (1), Christophe PETIT (1), Amélie QUIQUEREZ (2), Ghislain GARLATTI

(1) UMR 7041 ArScAn, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, France
(2) UMR CNRS 5594 ARTeHIS, University of Burgundy, France

Contact the author

Keywords

collapse, local wine, vineyard development, vineyard historical construction

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2012

Citation

Related articles…

A new graphical interface as a tool to integrate data from GC-MS and UPLC-MS-QTOF: new compounds related with port wine aging

Port wine value is related to its molecular profile resulting from the changes occurring during the ageing period. It is of empirical knowledge that the style is greatly affected by the oxidation regimens, i.e. bottle versus barrel storage

Understanding the impact of rising temperatures due to climate change on aromatic compositions in Malbec wines from Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza is one of Argentina’s most important and outstanding wine regions producing the renowned Malbec wines due to its optimal soil and weather conditions. However, the effects of 21st-century climate change would negatively impact Malbec wines quality. This study investigated the effect of temperature increase and the impact of plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) used to mitigate the negative effect of temperature increase on Malbec wines aromatic composition through GC-MS. Four treatments were applied on vines at field condition: Control, Control + 3 ºC, ABA and ABA + 3 ºC.

INOCULATION OF THE SELECTED METSCHNIKOWIA PULCHERRIMA MP1 AS A BIOPROTECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO SULFITES TO PREVENT BROWNING OF WHITE GRAPE MUST

Enzymatic browning (BE) of must is caused by polyphenol oxidases (PPOs), tyrosinase and laccase. Both PPOs can oxidize diphenols such as hydroxycinnamic acids (HA) to quinones, which can later polymerize to form melanins [1], which are responsible of BE in white wines and of oxidasic haze in red wines. SO₂ is the main tool used to protect must from BE thanks to its capacity to inhibit PPOs [2]. However, the current trend in winemaking is to reduce and even eliminate this unfriendly additive. Among the different possible alternatives for protecting must against BE, the inoculation with a selected Metschnikowia pulcherrima MP1 is without any doubt one of the most promising ones.

Interaction between the enzymes of central carbon metabolism and anthocyanin biosynthesis during grape berry development

Primary and secondary metabolites are major components of grape quality and wine typicity. Their accumulation is interconnected through a complex metabolic network, which is still not well understood. This study aims to investigate how the enzymes of central carbon metabolism interact with anthocyanin biosynthesis during grape berry development: does the accumulation of anthocyanins, which represents a non-negligible diversion of carbon metabolic fluxes, require reprogramming of central enzymes or is it controlled downstream of central metabolism? To this end, 23 enzymes involved in central carbon metabolism pathways have been analyzed in the berries of 3 grape cultivars, which have close genetic background but distinct temporal dynamics of anthocyanin accumulation.

Greek and Cypriot grape varieties as a sustainable solution to mitigate climate change

Aim: The aim of this report is to present evidence on the potential of Greek and Cypriot grape varieties to serve as a sustainable solution to mitigate climate change.

Methods and Results: The work provides a review of recent works involving Greek and Cypriot varieties’ performance under high temperatures and increased dryness.