A Viticultural Terroir in Brazil: Change and continuity

Drought is one of the main challenges for viticulture in the context of climate change. Selecting drought-tolerant plant material can be an effective strategy for a sustainable viticulture.

Infection of the grapes with Botrytis cinerea has a tremendous impact on the resulting crop yield and quality. Well-known problems that are associated with B. cinerea are specific off-flavors, poor filterability, and brownish color in white wines. The development of a B. cinerea infection strongly depends on weather conditions and is highly variable through different vintages. Typical control measures include defoliation and the use of fungicides, which involves high personnel and material costs. They also involve a great risk, especially since the effectiveness and time point of these treatments are difficult to predict.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are responsible for the flavor and aroma of a wine. The sensory qualities of the wines depend not only on grape intrinsic characteristics, but also on extrinsic factors including the soil composition. Previous studies have shown that the application of pyrogenic carbon (biochar) can lead to a change in soil parameters. For that reason, one of the goals of the ERDF funded project «WoodUp» is the characterization and reutilization of the locally produced biochar for agricultural purposes.

When talking about wine, terroirs are never too far. The National Institute of Apellation d’Origine (INAO) defines it as a system inside of which interact a group of human factors, an agricultural production and a physical environment.

Oxidation processes constitute a main problem in winemaking. Oxidation result in color browning and varietal aroma loss, which are key attributes of wine organoleptic quality [1]. Despite the mechanisms involved in wine oxidation have been extensively reviewed [2], the protection of wine against oxidative spoilage remains one of the main goals of winemaking.
SO2 is one of the most efficient wine antioxidants used to prevent oxidation and microbial spoilage. However, intolerances caused by SO2 have led to the reduction of its concentration in wines.