Terroir 2012 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2012 9 Grapevines and Terroirs 9 Conservation of intravarietal diversity in France: exhaustive overview and perspectives

Conservation of intravarietal diversity in France: exhaustive overview and perspectives

Abstract

Since the renewal of the French vineyard after the Phylloxera crisis, the panorama of cultivated varieties has dramatically changed. This current genetic erosion is due to the increasing interest in some cultivars that are widely spread out. Meanwhile, clonal selection has contributed to the development of these grape varieties driving towards a massive loss of genetic resources by the use of ± 400 clones only. Thus, since the middle 90’s, many local repositories have been established by the IFV and French selection partners.
These repositories are established in complementarity with INRA Domaine de Vassal for the maintenance of Vitis vinifera (and other species of Vitis) and the IFV for selected clones. Today, the total of local repositories has reached 151 holding 113 registered varieties and over than 15 000 clones. Passport data of this material is recorded in a national online data-base.
Some clonal research programs have been achieved using material held in repositories. For example, it is the case with Syrah for new material resistant to Syrah decline, Cabernet franc and Tannat for new clones with lower fertility, etc….

This presentation will also give a large overview on the French policy of conservation (history, recent developments, and tools for the management), the organization of the different levels of repositories, and some data including endangered and neglected cultivars that require short term actions to be engaged. Today, there are still 77 varieties without any repository. Some were widely used in the middle of the XXth century but have drastically decreased. Indeed, time has come now to engage a large inventory of old vineyards. Since the last decade, about 50 000 ha of old vineyards have been definitively discarded. That means that opportunities to find diversity are being reduced year after year.
Due to this coordination and partnership, some programs have recently been started : Jurançon noir, Muscat d’Alexandrie, Sacy, etc…
But it seems clear that means are required to prospect additional ressources, plant and manage repositories. Unfortunately, the wine industry does not necessarily consider these programs as a priority even if, in the long term perspective, there are good reasons to have everyone concerned and involved: climate changes, global competition, standardization, etc….

DOI:

Publication date: August 28, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2012

Type: Article

Authors

Olivier YOBRÉGAT (1), Christophe SÉRÉNO (2), Laurent AUDEGUIN (2), Thierry LACOMBE (3), Bertrand CHATELET (4), Jean-Michel BOURSIQUOT (5)

(1) IFV, V’Innopôle Sud-Ouest, BP 22, 81310 Lisle sur Tarn, France
(2) Géno-Vigne®, Domaine de l’Espiguette, 30240 Le Grau du Roi, France
(3) Géno-Vigne®, INRA, UMR AGAP, Equipe DAVEM, 2 place Viala, 34060 Montpellier, France
(4) SICAREX Beaujolais, 210 Boulevard Vermorel, 69400 Villefranche sur Saône, France
(5) Géno-Vigne®, IFV, Montpellier SupAgro, 2 place Viala, 34060 Montpellier, France

Contact the author

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2012

Citation

Related articles…

Towards more coherent rules for alcohol labelling in the European Union

In its 2020 beating cancer plan, the european commission announced plans for mandatory warning signs for alcoholic beverages. However, no concrete legislative proposal has been put forward so far. Instead, ireland passed national legislation in 2023 that requires warning signs for all alcoholic beverages from 2026. Despite significant effects for the common market, the eu commission did not this challenge this law in the so-called tris notification procedure. We argue that the commission’s inaction is consistent with the case law of the european court of justice: in the absence of harmonized rules, member states have a large margin of discretion to enact national health measures.

The concept of terroir: what place for microbiota?

Microbes play key roles on crop nutrient availability via biogeochemical cycles, rhizosphere interactions with roots as well as on plant growth and health. Recent advances in technologies, such as High Throughput Sequencing Techniques, allowed to gain deeper insight on the structure of bacterial and fungal communities associated with soil, rhizosphere and plant phyllosphere. Over the past 10 years, numerous scientific studies have been carried out on the microbial component of the vineyard. Whether the soil or grape compartments have been taken into account, many studies agree on the evidence of regional delineations of microbial communities, that may contribute to regional wine characteristics and typicity. Some authors proposed the term “microbial terroir” including “yeast terroir” for grapes to describe the connection between microbial biogeography and regional wine characteristics. Many factors are involved in terroir including climate, soil, cultivar and human practices as well as their interactions. Studies considering “microbial terroir” greatly contributed to improve our knowledge on factors that shape the vineyard microbial structure and diversity. However, the potential impact of “microbial terroir” on wine composition has yet not received strong scientific evidence and many questions remain to be addressed, related to the functional characterization of the microbial community and its impact on plant physiology and grape composition, the origins and interannual stability of vineyard microbiota, as well as their impact on wine sensorial attributes. The presentation will give an overview on the role of microbiota as a terroir component and will highlight future perspectives and challenges on this key subject for the wine industry.

Evaluation of physiological properties of grapevine clones of ‘Tempranillo’ and ‘Graciano’ in DOCa Rioja (Spain)

In order to avoid the loss of grapevine intra-varietal diversity of DOCa Rioja grape varieties, Regional Government of La Rioja established a germplasm bank with more than 1.600 accessions, whose origin lies in the prospecting and sampling of ancient vineyards located throughout the whole region. 30 clones of Tempranillo and 13 clones of Graciano were preselected and multiplied in a new vineyard for further observations. The aim of this work is to describe the first results from the physiological characterization by an optical sensor of these preselected clones, which constitute the base of a new clonal selection that aims to increase the range of available certified clones and to improve the adaptation of these varieties to future objectives and environmental conditions.

Combining high-power ultrasound and oenological enzymes during winemaking for improving red wine chromatic characteristics

he use of high-power ultrasound (US) is proving of great interest to the oenological industry due to its effects in the improvement of wine organoleptic characteristics, especially in terms of color [1, 2].

Les motivations du vigneron en quête de l’expression “terroir”

During the 1985 harvest, I was able to notice in the taste perception a break in the harmony of the wine during even partial blends of grapes from different plots. At the same time, I noted a good reaction from customers for greater product customization. As a result, I was led to seek the objective limits of the terroir of a cuvée and by a constant and permanent refinement of the parameters specific to each of the terroirs.