Improvement of non-Saccharomyces yeast dominance during must fermentation by using spontaneous mutants resistant to SO₂, EtOH and high pressure of CO₂

Context and purpose of the study. Globally, vineyard cultivation uses conventional methods to manage pests, diseases and increase yield.

The study of cultural practices to delay ripening and the characterization of their effect on wine composition is important in the mitigation of accelerated ripening caused by higher temperatures

Sessile oak and pedunculate oak have shown several differences of interest for enological purposes. Tannic and aromatic composition among sessile oak or pedonculate oak has been well studied. Sessile oak is generally more aromatic than pedunculated, while the later is more tannic. This scientific point of view is rarely applied to classify oak in cooperages. Most coopers use the type of grain to distinguish wide and thin grain.

In 2008 the anthocyanin, flavonol and hydroxycinnamate (HCT) contents of the skins of five coloured berry cultivars (‘Escursac’, ‘Esperó de Gall’, ‘Galmeter’, ‘Valent negre’ and ‘Vinater negre’), of two white cultivars (‘Argamussa’ and ‘Prensal blanc’) and of one weakly rose cultivar (‘Giró ros’), native from Balearic Islands, were characterized.

Global climate change affects regional climates and hold implications for wine growing regions worldwide. Although winegrowers are constantly adapting to internal and external factors, it seems relevant to develop tools, which will allow them to better define actual and future agro-climatic potentials. Within this context, we develop a modelling approach, able to simulate the impact of environmental conditions and constraints on vine behaviour and to highlight potential adaptation strategies according to different climate change scenarios. Our modeling approach, named SEVE (Simulating Environmental impacts on Viticultural Ecosystems), provides a generic modeling framework for simulating grapevine growth and berry ripening under different conditions and constraints (slope, aspect, soil type, climate variability…) as well as production strategies and adaptation rules according to climate change scenarios. Each activity is represented by an autonomous agent able to react and adapt its reaction to the variability of environmental constraints. Using this model, we have recently analyzed the evolution of vineyards’ exposure to climatic risks (frost, pathogen risk, heat wave) and the adaptation strategies potentially implemented by the winegrowers. This approach, implemented for two climate change scenarios, has been initiated in France on traditional (Loire Valley) and emerging (Brittany) vineyards. The objective is to identify the time horizons of adaptations and new opportunities in these two regions. Carried out in collaboration with wine growers, this approach aims to better understand the variability of climate change impacts at local scale in the medium and long term.