Terroir 2008 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Influence of organic plant treatment on the terroir of microorganisms

Influence of organic plant treatment on the terroir of microorganisms

Abstract

Several factors like vineyard site, climate, grape variety, ripeness, physical health of the grapes and pest management influence the populations of indigenous yeasts on grapes and later on in spontaneous fermentations. During spontaneous fermentations, so called “wild yeasts” could significantly influence the wine aroma. Some authors certify more complexity and an increase of wine quality to these fermentations. A widespread opinion is that spontaneous fermentation can help to emphasize the characteristics of a specific geographical area or even of one vineyard site.
This was checked in a three years experimental period testing different pest management strategies to replace or reduce copper and sulphur and comparing integrated, organic and biodynamic strategies. Alternatives to copper or sulphur treatments could however have an impact on the aroma profiles, as they alter the composition of natural yeast populations in the vineyard or lead to changes in yeast metabolism. This was tested with several alternative strategies compared to organic-standard and integrated variants. Effects on spontaneous flora, fermentation course and aroma profiles were analysed.
Yeast populations on grapes and at different stages of grape and must processing were isolated and determined using RFLP analysis of the ITS-region.
Hanseniaspora uvarum and Metschnikowia pulcherrima were the dominating species on the grapes in all variants. There was no correlation between the population dynamics of yeast during the processing and fermentation and the different pest management strategies.
In this survey the processing and the ecosystem winery seem to have a more important influence on yeast diversity than the microflora composition on grapes.

DOI:

Publication date: December 8, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2008

Type : Article

Authors

STÖLBEN T (1,2), RÜCK C (1,2), HERRBRUCK T (1,2), KAUER R (1), VON WALLBRUNN C (2)

(1) Fachbereich Geisenheim, Fachhochschule Wiesbaden, Von-Lade-Str. 1, 65366 Geisenheim
(2) Fachgebiet Mikrobiologie u. Biochemie, Forschungsanstalt Geisenheim, Von-Lade-Str. 1, 65366 Geisenheim

Contact the author

Keywords

 yeast, spontaneous fermentation, organic pest management, RFLP, sensory analysis

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2008

Citation

Related articles…

Simulating climate change impact on viticultural systems in historical and emergent vineyards

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.

Projected changes in vine phenology of two varieties with different thermal requirements cultivated in La Mancha DO (Spain) under climate change scenarios

The aim of this work was to analyze the phenology variability of Tempranillo and Chardonnay cultivars, related to the climatic characteristics in La Mancha Designation of Origin, and their potential changes under climate change scenarios. Phenological dates referred to budbreak, flowering, veraison and harvest were analyzed for the period 2000-2019. The weather conditions at daily time scale, recorded during the same period, were also evaluated. The thermal requirements to reach each of these phenological stages were calculated and expressed as the GDD accumulated from DOY=60. Changes in phenology were projected by 2050 and 2070 taking into account those values and the projected temperatures and precipitation, simulated under two Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios –RCP4.5 and RCP8.5– using an ensemble of models. The average phenological dates during the period under study were, April 16th ± 6.6 days and April 5th ± 6.0 days for budbreak, May 31st ± 6.0 days and May 27th ± 5.3 days for flowering, July 26th ± 5.6 days and July 25th ± 5.8 days for veraison, and Ago 23rd ± 10.8 days and Ago 17th ± 9.0 days for harvest, respectively, for Tempranillo and Chardonnay. The projected changes in temperature imply an average change in the maximum growing season (April-August) temperatures of 1.2 and 1.9°C by 2050, and 1.6 and 2.6°C by 2070, under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively. A reduction in precipitation is predicted, which vary between 15% for 2050 under RCP4.5 scenario and up to 30% by 2070 under RCP8.5. The advance of the phenological dates for 2050, could be of 6, 7, 7, and 8 days for Tempranillo and 4, 6, 6 and 9 days for Chardonnay, respectively for budbreak, flowering, veraison and harvest under the RCP4.5 scenario. Under the RCP8.5 emission scenario, the advance could be up to 30% higher.

Phenological characterization of a wide range of Vitis Vinifera varieties

In order to study the impact of climate change on Bordeaux grape varieties and to assess the adaptation capacities of candidates to the grape varieties of this wine region to the new climatic conditions, an experimental block design composed of 52 grape varieties was set up in 2009 at the INRAE Bordeaux Aquitaine center. Among the many parameters studied, the three main phenological stages of the vine (budburst, flowering and veraison) have been closely monitored since 2012. Observations for each year, stage and variety were carried out on four independent replicates. Precocity indices have been calculated from the data obtained over the 2012-2021 period (Barbeau et al. 1998). This work allowed to group the phenological behaviour of the grapevine varieties, not only based on the timing of the subsequent developmental stages, but also on the overall precocity of the cycle and the total length of the cycle between budburst and veraison. Results regarding the variability observed among the different grape varieties for these phenological stages are presented as heat maps.

Climate, Viticulture, and Wine … my how things have changed!

The planet is warmer than at any time in our recorded past and increasing greenhouse emissions and persistence in the climate system means that continued warming is highly likely. Climate change has already altered the basic framework of growing grapes for wine production worldwide and will likely continue to do so for years to come. The wine sector can continue to play an important role in leading the agricultural sector in addressing climate change. From developing on…

Analysis of Cabernet Sauvignon and Aglianico winegrape (V. vinifera L.) responses to different pedo-climatic environments in southern Italy

Water deficit is one of the most important effects of climate change able to affect agricultural sectors. In general, it determines a reduction in biomass production, and for some plants, as in the case of grapevine, it can endorse fruit quality. The monitoring and management of plant water stress in the vineyard