Terroir and precision viticulture: are they compatible?

With contemporary climate change, cultivated Vitis vinifera L. is at risk as climate is a critical component in defining ecologically fitted plant materiel. While winegrowers can draw on the rich diversity among grapevine varieties to limit expected impacts (Morales-Castilla et al., 2020), replacing a signature variety that has created a sense of local distinctiveness may lead to several challenges. In order to sustain wine identity in uncertain climate outcomes, the study of intra-varietal diversity is important to reflect the adaptive and evolutionary potential of current cultivated varieties. The aim of this ongoing study is to understand to what extent can intra-varietal diversity be a climate change adaptation solution. With a focus on early (Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Grolleau, Pinot noir) to moderate late (Chenin, Petit Verdot, Cabernet franc) ripening varieties, data was collected for flowering and veraison for the various studied accessions (from conservatory plots) and clones. For these phenological growing stages, heat requirements were established using nearby weather stations (adapted from the GFV model, Parker et al., 2013) and model performances were verified. Climate change projections were then integrated to predict the future behaviour of the intra-varietal diversity. Study findings highlight the strong phenotypic diversity of studied varieties and the importance of diversification to enhance climate change resilience. While model performances may require improvements, this study is the first step towards quantifying heat requirements of different clones and how they can provide adaptation solutions for winegrowers to sustain local wine identity in a global changing climate. As genetic diversity is an ongoing process through point mutations and epigenetic adaptations, perspective work is to explore clonal data from a wide variety of geographic locations.

Viticultural potential has a complex conditioning, determined by relief,
soil, climate and lithology. Delineation of viticultural potential from vineyard areas is essential for the purpose to collect the necessary data for viticultural zoning. Using this data, we can achieve greater yield quality, which is the most important criteria in viticulture. The main purpose of this research is
characterizing of viticultural potential and zoning of homogeneous viticultural zones in Goriška Brda region by assessing the suitability of defined ecological factors.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as the workhorse of alcoholic fermentation, is a major actor of winemaking. In this context, this yeast species uses alcoholic fermentation to convert sugars from the grape must into ethanol and CO2 with an outstanding efficiency: it reaches on average 92% of the maximum theoretical yield of conversion. Moreover, S. cerevisiae is also known for its great genetic diversity and plasticity that is directly related to its living environment, natural or technological and therefore to domestication. This leads to a great phenotypic diversity of metabolites production.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbiotic associations with plant roots and can help plants acquire nutrients from the soil in exchange for photosynthetic carbon. Commercial bioinoculants containing AMF are widely available and represent a potential opportunity to reduce the dependence of grapevines on agrochemicals. However, which commercially available AMF species colonize vine roots and affect vine growth remains unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the AMF species from commercial bioinoculants that colonize grapevine roots using high-throughput sequencing, and to evaluate the performance of five commercial bioinoculants and their effects on own-rooted Cabernet sauvignon.

La prise en compte des paysages viticoles dans le développement durable ou l’aménagement du territoire est un thème non négligeable pour la valorisation de la filière viti-vinicole à l’échelle d’une exploitation ou d’une A.O.C.