Grape variety identification and detection of terroir effects from satellite images

Plant water stress affects grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berry composition and is variable in space due to variations in the physical environment at the growing site. Could we use water status maps as a sensitive tool to discriminate between harvest zones?

Research into the effects of the Terroir is of major interest for the wine sector. The study of Terroir-Vine-Grape relations, even if it is complex, is fundamental for all viticulture: indeed, the quality of the grape must be the result of the most reasoned agro-viticultural management of the vine possible, which must first, to respect a production balance. The goal sought by the winegrower is to obtain a wine, the optimized result of the interactions Terroir-Grape variety. This link to the terroir is therefore essential to establish by taking into account on the one hand the behavior of the vine (which is the cause), and on the other hand, its effects on the grapes and finally on the wine.

Aims: The aims of this work were (1) to assess the changes in some of the main bioclimatic indices used for climate viticultural zoning within the Rioja Appellation area in the north of Spain between 1950-2014 (60 years), and (2) to carry out a comprehensive sociological evaluation among grapegrowers and winemakers of this region, to better understand the impact of climate change on their activity, their degree of concern about it and the potential adaptation measures they would be willing to adopt to cope with it in future years.

Pomace is one of the main residues generated by the wine industry and represents an environmental problem. Currently, there is a growing interest in the revaluation of these products because different bioactive compounds can be obtained from them, such as polyphenols, grape seed oils and polysaccharides. Red grape pomace can be an important source of polysaccharides, but they are currently little studied and even less with viable and environmental extraction processes (green extraction), such as flash extraction. The residual amount of the fraction rich in pectin (residual pulp) and component rich in hemicellulose in the pomace and the strength of association of the pectin with the cellulose-xyloglucan network depend on the degree of extractability of the polysaccharides in red winemaking and on the winemaking conditions.

Context and purpose of the study. Climate change is already threatening California vineyards, as they grapple with increasing extreme weather events and drier growing seasons.