Winemaking processes discrimination by using qNMR metabolomics

Wine lees are the sediment that settles at the bottom of wine barrels, tanks, or bottles during the winemaking process and represent the second most significant by-product of wineries.

Grapevine nitrogen (N) monitoring is essential for efficient N management plans that optimize fruit yield and quality while reducing fertilizer costs and the risk of environmental contamination. Unlike traditional vegetative-tissue sampling methods, remote sensing technologies, including hyperspectral imaging, have the potential to allow monitoring of the N status of entire vineyards at a per-vine resolution. However, differential N partitioning, variable spectral properties, and complex canopy structures hinder the development of a robust N retrieval algorithm. The present study aimed to establish a solid understanding of vine spectroscopic response at leaf and canopy levels by evaluating the different nitrogen retrieval approaches, including the radiative transfer model.

«Graves de Bordeaux» est une des rares appellations à porter le nom d’un terroir, au sens agronomique du terme. Et ce territoire vitivinicole présente une relative unité géographique, de Langon à Bordeaux sur la rive gauche de la Garonne.

Winegrowing regions recognized as protected designations of origin (PDOs) are closely tied to well defined geographic locations with a specific set of pedoclimatic attributes and strictly regulated by legal specifications. However, climate change is increasingly threatening these regions by changing local conditions and altering winegrowing processes. The vulnerability to these changes is largely heterogenous across different winegrowing regions because it is determined by individual characteristics of each region, including the capacity to adapt to new climatic conditions and the sensitivity to climate change, which depend not only on natural, but also socioeconomic and legal factors. Accurate vulnerability assessments therefore need to combine information about adaptive capacity and climate change sensitivity with projected exposure to new climatic conditions. However, most existing studies focus on specific impacts neglecting important interactions between the different factors that determine climate change vulnerability. Here, we present the first comprehensive vulnerability assessment of European wine PDOs that spatially combines multiple indicators of adaptive capacity and climate change sensitivity with high-resolution climate projections. We found that the climate change vulnerability of PDO areas largely depends on the complex interactions between physical and socioeconomic factors. Homogenous topographic conditions and a narrow varietal spectrum increase climate change vulnerability, while the skills and education of farmers, together with a good economic situation, decrease their vulnerability. Assessments of climate change consequences therefore need to consider multiple variables as well as their interrelations to provide a comprehensive understanding of the expected impacts of climate change on European PDOs. Our results provide the first vulnerability assessment for European winegrowing regions at high spatiotemporal resolution that includes multiple factors related to climate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity on the level of single winegrowing regions. They will therefore help to identify hot spots of climate change vulnerability among European PDOs and efficiently direct adaptation strategies.

Aim: Wine quality and character are defined in part by the terroir in which the grapes are grown. Metabolomic techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), are used to characterise wines and to detect wine fraud in other countries but have not been extensively trialled in Australia. This study aimed to investigate the use of ICP-MS and NMR to characterise a selection of Pinot noir wines.