Effect of vine nitrogen status on grape and wine quality: Terroir study in the Vaud vineyard (Switzerland)

The grapevine is facing significant challenges due to climate change, as rising temperatures impact its physiological traits and disrupt plant phenology.

Agro-ecological transition and adaptation to climate change are the two major challenges facing modern agriculture.

The Bull’s Blood of Eger (‘Egri Bikavér’) is one of the most reputed red wines in Hungary and abroad, produced in the Northeastern part of the country.

The production of high-quality wines requires the use of high-quality grapes. Some compounds originating from grapes may negatively influence the odour and flavour of the resulting wine in their original form or as precursors for off-odours and –flavours. Therefore, a rapid evaluation of the grapes directly upon receival at the winery is advantageous. Up to now, grape aroma is mainly evaluated by tasting, however, this leads to subjective results. The use of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy allows a rapid, objective and destruction-free analysis without previous sample preparation. Moreover, the measurement can be integrated into an existing process without additional sampling.

The French “Coteaux du Layon” Appellation of Origin has built its Jarne on the production of sweet white wines. A network of experimental plots, based on the “terroir” concept, was established in 1990; it allows for the follow-up of the overripening behaviour of the grapes in relation with the agroviticultural parameters.