Validation of the viticulture zoning methodology applied to determine the homogenous soil units present on D.O. Ribera de Duero region

In this video recording of the IVES science meeting 2021, Simone D. Castellarin (University of British Columbia, Wine Research Center, Wine Research Centre, Vancouver, Canada) speaks about the effects of water deficit on secondary metabolites in grapes and wines. This presentation is based on an original article accessible for free on OENO One.

Wine is one of the most consumed and appreciated beverages in the world. Due to the growing attention paid to consumer health, there is a continuous search for sustainable alternatives to common additives (such as sulfur dioxide) used to preserve wine. An example is represented by chitosan, the main derivative of chitin, approved for the treatment of must and wine since 2009 by the “international organization of vine and wine” (OIV/OENO 338a/2009) and by the european commission (EC Reg. No. 606/2009).

For several years, the development of computer resources, and in particular of Geographic Information Systems, have allowed the emergence of a new approach to the analysis and characterization of wine-growing areas (Morlat, 1989; Laville, 1990). These methods, which make it possible to identify homogeneous areas or units of terroir, are based on crossing, statistical analysis (in particular Principal Component Analysis: PCA) and the integration of parameters describing the natural environment in which develop the vine.

A new framework for the segmentation and characterization of row crops on remote sensing images has been developed and validated for vineyard monitoring. This framework operates on any high-resolution remote sensing images since it is mainly based on geometric information. It aims at obtaining maps describing the variation of a vegetation index such as NDVI along each row of a parcel.

Probably one of the most counterintuitive impacts of climate change on vine is the increased frequency of late frost. Champagne, due to its septentrional position is historically and regularly affected by this meteorological hazard. Champagne has therefore developed a strong experience in frost protection with first experiments dating from the end of 19th century. Frost protection can be divided in two parts: passive and active. Passive protection includes all the methods that do not seek to modify the vine’s environment or resistance at the time of frost. The most iconic passive protection in Champagne is the establishment of the individual reserve. This reserve allows to stock a certain quantity of clear wine during a surplus year to compensate a meteorological hazard like frost during the following years. Other common passive methods are the control of planting area (walls, bushes, topography), the choice of grape variety, late pruning, or the impact of grass cover and tillage. Active frost protection is also divided in two parts. Most of the existing techniques tend to modify vine’s environment. Most of the time they provide warmth (candles, heaters, windmills, heating cables…), or stabilise bud’s temperature above a lethal threshold (water sprinkling). The other way to actively fight is to enhance the resistance of buds to frost (elicitors). The Comité Champagne evaluates frost protection methods following three main axes: the efficiency, the profitability, and the environmental impact through a lifecycle assessment. This study will present the results on both passive and active protection following these three axes.