Terroir 2008 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The Fontevraud charter in favour of the viticultural landscapes

The Fontevraud charter in favour of the viticultural landscapes

Abstract

The viticultural regions of the world have the advantage of a remarkable diversity of landscapes which are the reflection of the winegrowers’ capacity to adapt to the different geomorphological and climatic specificities of the terroirs, more generally speaking, this aesthetic and heritage aspect of the terroir is also part and parcel of the notion of sustainable viticulture.
But this cultural ecosystem is fragile. The modernity, in its functional approach, has often hidden this patrimonial wealth handed down by the previous generations, a heritage sometimes perceived as a hindrance in the face of the technological evolutions and economic requirements.
In this frame, the Val de Loire region initiated the first international symposium on viticultural landscapes which took place from 2nd to 4th July 2003 at the Fontevraud abbey.
As an extension, a charter has been drawn up in collaboration notably with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ecology, the National Institute for Controlled Origins, the International Organization of Vines and Wines with the support of the French Commission for Unesco and the International Council for Monuments and Sites.
This charter, perfectly appropriate for the European landscape convention, advocates knowledge and understanding of the evolution of the viticultural landscapes in their aesthetic, cultural, historical and scientific aspects. The charter combines a well-informed review of the landscape organization of these terroirs and a joint project of both professional structures and local communities, so as to finalize protective and upgrading actions, in the frame of a management scheme.

Related articles…

THE FLAVANOL PROFILE OF SKIN, SEED, WINES, AND POMACE ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF EACH TYPOLOGY AND CONTRIBUTES TO UNDERSTAND THE FLAVAN- 3-OLS EXTRACTION DURING RED WINEMAKING

Wine flavanols are extracted from grape skin and seeds along red winemaking. Potentially, eight flavan-3-ol subunits may be present as monomers or as tannins constituents, being these catechin, epicathechin, gallocatechin, epigallocatechin end the gallates of the mentioned units. In this work the flavanol profiles of grape skins and seeds before (grapes) and after (pomace) red winemaking were studied together with the one in the corresponding wines. The trials were made over two vintages in Vitis vinifera cv. Tannat, Syrah and Marselan from Uruguay.

Analysis of the interaction of melatonin with glycolytic proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae during alcoholic fermentation 

Melatonin is a bioactive compound with antioxidant properties, that has been found in many fermented beverages, such as beer and wine [1]. Indeed, it has been shown that yeast can synthesize melatonin during alcoholic fermentation, although its role inside the cell, as well as the metabolic pathway involved in its synthesis, is still unclear [1]. Recent studies showed that during fermentation, melatonin interacts with different proteins of the glycolytic pathway in both Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeast, for instance glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase or enolase [2].

Development, validation and application of a fast UHPLC-HRMS method for the analysis of amino acids and biogenic amines in wines and musts.

The amino acids in grape juice are an important nitrogen source for yeast during alcoholic fermentation. Additionally, certain AAs are precursors to some of the volatile compounds found in wine and overall

Quantification of Eugenol in various matrixes from hybrids vines. Case study of Armagnac white spirits production

Nowadays, winemaking is dealing with great challenges, notably climate change, disease resistance and low pesticide inputs, desire for more sustainable agricultural productions and permanent changing of consumer preference.

The use of δ13C as an indicator of water use efficiency for the selection of drought tolerant grapevine varieties

In the context of climate change with increasing evaporative demand, understanding the water use behavior of different grapevine cultivars is of critical importance. Carbon isotope discrimination (δ13C) measurements in wine provide a precise and integrated assessment of the water status of the vines during the sugar accumulation period in grape berries. When collected over multiple vintages on different cultivars, δ13C measurements can also provide insights into the effects of genotype on water use efficiency.