Terroir and precision viticulture: are they compatible?

The synthetic herbicide glyphosate has been used extensively in viticulture over many decades to combat weeds. Despite this, the possible influence of residual glyphosate on both the alcoholic fermentation of grape juice and the subsequent metabolite profile of wines has not been investigated. In this study, Pinot noir juice supplemented with different concentrations of glyphosate (0 µg L-1, 10 µg L-1 and 1000 µg L-1) was fermented with commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains. Using a combination of analytical methods, 80 metabolites were quantified in the resulting wines.

Since the mid-1980s, several surveys have been carried out in La Rioja to search for populations of the sylvestris grapevine subspecies (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris Gmelin). The banks of the Ebro River and its tributaries (Alhama, Cidacos, Leza, Iregua, Najerilla, Oja and Tirón rivers), as well as the surrounding vegetation of their valleys have been covered. So far, all the populations found are alluvial, forming part of the riparian vegetation of the Najerilla (the first reported population in La Rioja [1]), Iregua, and the vicinity of Oja valleys.

Sulfonated monomeric and dimeric flavan-3-ols are recently discovered in wine and proved to have great importance in understanding wine chemistry and quality [1, 2].

In partnership with a Bordeaux property wanting to improve the quality of its second wine, the effects of two factors, American oak barrels and mannoproteins were studied. Their impact on the attractiveness and sweetness of wines were characterized during two successive vintages (2012 and 2013). Vinification took place with a homogeneous batch of Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was then divided up into various groups of five barrels of French and American oak, new or reused. Analyses of volatile and non-volatile wood compounds were undertaken at four months and eight months of wood ageing, by LC-MS and GC-MS.

The cultivation of grapes, can be accomplished with the use of different systems and practices of agricultural management, the choice of the system to be followed in the vineyard, depends on the conditions of available resources, these being: natural, economic, social, cultural and territorial. As well, it is relevant to know the characteristics of the soil of the vineyard. In the last decade, has been recurrent use of agricultural practices which date back to milinares traditions, with the aim of promoting a recovery of soil and lead the management of cultivation with less damage to the ecosystem. The study here, aimed to quantify the environmental impacts caused in the use of nutrients in conventional tillage and of grapes in the biodynamic agricultural properties in the state of Rio Grande do Sul- Brazil.