Pedological criteria according to the French hierarchy of vintages, Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC): study of two toposequences located in the Burgundian “Côte”

Bud fruitfulness is a key component of reproductive performance of grapevine. It plays a significant role in annual yield variation of vineyards as it is a prerequisite of crop production in the following season. Various exogenous and endogenous factors influencing the development of inflorescence primordia (IP) have been studied. However, the research on molecular genetic control of bud fruitfulness, especially how it interacts with environmental factors is still lacking. This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanism of effects of temperature and light on grapevine bud fruitfulness during initiation and differentiation of IP.

The knowledge of the grape aromatic composition during ripening provides very important information for winegrowers, who may carry out different viticultural practices, or determine the harvest date more accurately. However, there are currently no tools that allow this measurement to be carried out in a non-invasive and rapid way. For this reason, the aim of this work was to design a non-invasive methodology, based on hyperspectral imaging to estimate the aromatic composition and total soluble solids (TSS) of Tempranillo Blanco berries during ripening.

During ripening seed tannins evolve, as demonstrated by the taste and color changes. In this work we tried to develop an objective, easy and fast index, useful for winemakers. In this direction we propose two different spectrophotometric indexes, one related to the molecular structure and tannin subunits linkages, and the other related to the antioxidant properties. Especially the second one gave very interesting and unexpected results.

The two most deadly viruses infecting and threatening the productivity of grapevines worldwide are leafroll and red blotch viruses. There is no cure for viral diseases other than roguing the symptomatic vines and replacing them with certified vines derived from clean, virus-tested stocks.
Given that phloem plays a central role in virus infection, this study aimed to purge the virus by girdling the phloem of leafroll-infected vines at different phenological stages of infected grapevines. Phloem-girdling was performed on canes at veraison to varying regions between the proximal and distal clusters.

The South African wine industry is taking an interest in the enhancement of red wine total antioxidant capacity (TAC) with retention of sensory quality to satisfy the demands of increasingly discerning consumers. The focus is especially on the unique South African red wine cultivar, Pinotage.