Contribution of viticultural and oenological factors to the aromatic potential of white Colombard wines from the south west of France Gascony vineyard

Context and purpose of the study. The temperature increase related to ongoing climate changes is causing a progressive anticipation of the ripening time, negatively affecting grape quality at harvest.

This work began as an intellectual game, in order to discuss the notion of wine quality in terms of terroir and territory spatial structure. Vine and wine quality has long been questioned by scientists. Each discipline approaching it with his own tools.

The Occitanie Region is the first vine-growing area in France: 270 000 hectares of vineyard and an annual production of 15 million hectoliters. Its annual income reaches 1 900 million euros, of which 900 million euros in export.The vine and wine sector is facing many issues: inputs reduction, adaptation to climate change, maintaining the production competitiveness, digital tools integration in production and transformation processes, and the production of quality wines meeting the consumer demand.

The role of soils and bedrock geology has long been acknowledged as a fundamental component of terroir. In South Africa the influence of geology is misunderstood and some important geological components will be highlighted in this paper.

Quercetin (Q), a phenolic compound released from grape skins during red wine maceration, has been identified as a source of instability in bottled wines, particularly Sangiovese, due to crystallisation. This phenomenon represents an economic challenge for producers and affects wine clarity and consumer perception.