Future scenarios for viticultural climatic zoning in Europe

Barrel ageing is a crucial step in the wine process because it allows many changes to the wine as enrichment, colour stabilization, clarification and also a slow oxygenation. Effects of the oak barrel have to be known to prevent oxidation of the wine. The type of bung used during ageing is also a parameter to consider. Ageing sweet wines in barrel is a real challenge. These wines may need some oxygen at the beginning of ageing but they should be protected at the end of their maturation, to avoid oxidation.

Soil and climate of 3 vineyards have been characterised in order to determine their influence on grape quality. These vineyards are located in Conca de Barberà (Catalonia, NE Spain) and belong to Cabernet sauvignon and Grenache noir cultivars. All 3 plots are very close, so only interannual climatic data of the nearest meteorological station have been considered.

Climate change is causing a gap between the technological and phenolic maturity of grapes, resulting in wines with high alcohol content and low polyphenol concentration. Another phenomenon associated with high temperatures and whose effect is more pronounced if the harvest is delayed is the decrease in the acidity of the grapes, mainly in malic acid, and an increase in pH caused by the accumulation of potassium derived from the increase in temperature. Therefore, climate change and the effects it causes on the vine leads to unbalanced wines, with high alcohol content and lack of color, with green tannins, astringency and excessively low acidity if not corrected.

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.

La salubrité du milieu et des aliments intervient de plus en plus lourdement, et souvent négativement, sur la santé de l’homme, aussi bien sur l’individu que sur la société tout entière.