The characteristics of strong territorial brands: the case of Champagne

Grappa is a traditional Italian alcoholic beverage, with an alcohol content generally between 40-60% vol., obtained from the distillation of grape pomace used for the production of wine. Grappa are often aged in wooden barrels. There are various types of grappa: young, aromatic, aged, extra-aged depending on whether the distillate comes from aromatic vines or is aged in wooden barrels for shorter or longer periods. There is also flavored grappa if herbs, fruit or roots are added. All this makes it an extremely heterogeneous product both from an organoleptic and compositional point of view.

Aim: The aim of this research is to quantify the impacts of different cordon establishment techniques on vine health and longevity. It is hypothesised that wrapping developing cordon arms tightly around the cordon wire will cause a constriction of the vascular system, becoming worse over time and disrupting the flow of water and nutrients.

Champagne is a well-known wine region in Northern France with distinct terroirs and three main grape varieties. As for any vineyard, wine quality is highly linked to the microbiological characteristics of the raw materials. However, Champagne grape microbiota, especially its fungal component, has yet to be fully characterized. Our study focused on describing this mycobiota, from vine to small scale model wine, for the two main Champagne grape varieties, Pinot Noir and Meunier, using complementary cultural and omics approaches.

We tried to give a part of the answer to this question by monitoring glutathione during winemaking and storage. The novelty of our approach is to quantify simultaneously the three known forms of glutathione: free glutathione (GSH), oxidized form (GSSG) and glutathione-S-sulfonate (GSSO3H).

Climate change is challenging the resilience of grapevine, one of the most important crops worldwide. Adapting viticulture to a hotter and drier future will require a multifaceted approach that must include new management strategies, increased irrigation efficiency, and the identification of more drought tolerant genotypes.