Sustainablity of vineyards in the Priorat region (NE Spain)

Viticulture is facing two major challenges – climate change and agroecological transition. The soil plays a pivotal role in these transition processes. Therefore, soil quality and adequate soil management are key levers for an ecologically and economically sustainable viticulture. Over the last 15 years, numerous studies evidenced strong effects of viticultural practices on the soil physical, chemical and biological quality. However, to date a global analysis providing a comprehensive overview of the ecological impacts of viticultural practices on soil biological quality is missing.

Úbeda-Aguilera, C a, b, Peña-Neira, A.b Del Barrio-Galán, R.b, c a Biomedical Sciences Institute, Science Faculty, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Chile. b Department of Agro-Industry and Enology, Faculty of Agronomical Sciences, University of Chile, Post Office Box 1004, Santa Rosa 11315, La Pintana, Santiago, Chile c Lallemand Inc. Chile y Compañía Limitada, Rosario Norte 407, piso 6, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile The wine is a complex matrix made up of several compounds which can interact among themselves throughout the wine ageing process, thereby modifying their sensorial characteristics. It is well known that during ageing of wines on lees, polysaccharides (mainly mannoproteins) can be released and can interact with the aromatic fraction modifying its volatility.

The viticulture of the Douro Delimited Region, one of the heirs of ancestral viticulture, traditionally empirical and of quality, while integrating modernity and contemporary tools, respects and has always present the principles on which it was developed.

Une étude de la physiologie de la vigne (cv. Merlot) et de la qualité des vins a été réalisée au Tessin de 2006 à 2008. La méthodologie utilisée pour cette étude intégrait tous les paramètres qui définissent les terroirs: facteurs naturels (géologie, pédologie et climat), facteurs physiologiques de la vigne et qualité des vins qui sont les révélateurs de la valeur d’un terroir.

Irrigation of vineyards is a matter of controversial arguments at areas of high quality wine production. Besides, the effects of the water in the plant are closer related to the water availability than to the irrigation regime.