On the meaning of looking for terroir perceptions in blind tastings

Biostimulants and biofertilizers are considered environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternatives to synthetic fertilizers, plant growth regulators and crop improvement products. Broadly, plant biostimulants are expected to improve nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, quality traits and availability of nutrients in the soil or rhizosphere. Currently, seaweed extracts account for more than 33% of the total plant biostimulant market. Within this category, Ascophyllum nodosum (AN), is the most widely studied and applied in biostimulant formulations.

Grapevine rootstocks have traditionally been chosen in order to manage scion vigour, soil pests and soil conditions. Riparia Gloire de Montpellier (RGM) has been in use since the turn of the 19th century, over 100 years and still a remarkably stable source of phylloxera (Daktulosphaeria vitifoliae Fitch) resistance. The original source material was probably collected near the Missouri/Mississippi river confluence, a mid-continental but more southerly location in the United States. It has been hypothesized that more northerly selections of V. riparia Michx might improve both fall acclimation rate and depth of the scion, thus mitigating late fall frost and midwinter freeze damage.

The impact of toasting process to produce aroma from oak wood intrinsic composition is well documented. It is admitted that such complexity contribute to the wine quality after barrel ageing. Despite our knowledge on the molecular identification of aroma impact compounds of oak wood, little research have been carried out, on a sensory level, on the aroma diversity of toasted oak wood.

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On a étudié durant deux saisons de croissance (2002/2003 et 2003/2004) l’effet de l’orientation vertical des rameaux sur les paramètres physiologiques, végétatifs et reproductifs dans la région de Stellenbosch dans un vignoble du cépage Merlot sur 99 R conduite à espalier et taillé a cordon coursonné. Les vignes étaient espacées 2.7 x 1.5 m. L’irrigation a été appliquée quand la baie avait la dimension d’un pois et a la véraison.

High concentration of sugars in grapes and alcohols in wines is one of the consequences of climate change on viticulture production in several wine regions. One of the options to alleviate this potential problem is to perform severe shoot trimming of the vines to limit the production of carbohydrates. Two different studies were performed in order to investigate the effects of severe shoot trimming on the composition of Merlot grapes; in a first study severe shoot trimming was performed at three different phenological stages (at berry set, at the beginning of veraison and at the end of veraison), while in a second study two trimming treatments (standard shoot trimming and severe shoot trimming performed at the end of veraison) were combined with two shoot densities in order to evaluate the relative impact of these treatments on Merlot grape composition.