Grapevine sensitivity to fungal diseases: use of a combination of terroir cartography and parcel survey

Work aimed at understanding the relationship between a terroir, in the agronomic sense, and the physico-chemical characteristics of grapes or wine are numerous today, as evidenced by the program of this symposium. But for an economist, the central question remains to know how the terroir can intervene in the construction of the economic value of wine and in the differentiation of its prices. Is the terroir effect recognized by the end consumer or is it only an internal adjustment variable in the production systems? Through which indicators can this terroir effect be managed by the various operators in the sector? In the end, isn’t it better to invoke a “territorial effect” that the actors can build, and of which the terroir would be one of the possible components?

Pinking of white wine is an undesired change potentially occurring over storage, leading to the turning of color from yellow into salmon-red hue.

Since the arrival of Phyloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifolia) in Europe at the end of the 19th century, grafting has become essential to cultivate Vitis vinifera. Today, grafting provides not only resistance to this aphid, but it used to adapt the cultivars according to the type of soil, environment, or grape production requirements by using a panel of rootstocks. As part of vineyard decline, it is often mentioned the importance of producing quality grafted grapevine to improve vineyard longevity, but, to our knowledge, no study has been able to demonstrate that grafting has a role in this context. However, some scion/rootstock combinations are considered as incompatible due to poor graft union formation and subsequently high plant mortality soon after grafting. In a context of climate change where the creation of new cultivars and rootstocks is at the centre of research, the ability of new cultivars to be grafted is therefore essential. The early identification of graft incompatibility could allow the selection of non-viable plants before planting and would have a beneficial impact on research and development in the nursery sector. For this reason, our studies have focused on the identification of metabolic and transcriptomic markers of poor grafting success during the first days/week after grafting; we have identified some correlations between some specialized metabolites, especially stilbenes, and grafting success, as well as an accumulation of some amino acids in the incompatible combination. The study of the metabolome and the transcriptome allowed us to understand and characterise the processes involved during graft union formation.

Le variabili meteorologiche e micro-meteorologiche ricoprono un importante ruolo sulla risposta vegeto-produttiva della vite e di conseguenza sulla qualità delle produzioni. Utilizzando una rete wireless di sensori sono stati monitorati i parametri meteorologici e micro-meteorologici di 4 vigneti del territorio toscano e in differenti condizioni di gestione agronomica.

Fining is a technique that is used to remove unwanted wine components that affect clarification, astringency, color, bitterness, and aroma. Fining involves the addition of adsorptive or reactive material in order to reduce or eliminate the presence of certain less desirable wine components and to ensure that a wine remains in a particular stable state for a given period of time Recently concerns have been raised about the addition of animal proteins, such as gelatin, to wine due to the disease known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow disease). Although the origin of gelatins has been moved to porcine, winemakers are asking for substitute products with properties and application protocols similar to the traditional animal-derived ones, making the use of plant-derived proteins in fining a practically viable possibility. As a consequence, various fining agents derived from plants have been proposed, including proteins from cereals, legumes, and potato.