The use of local knowledge relating to vineyard performance to identify viticultural terroirs in Stellenbosch and surrounds

Currently, the greatest challenge for vine growers is to improve the yield and quality of grapes by minimizing costs and environmental impacts. This goal can be achieved through a better knowledge of vineyard spatial variability. Traditional platforms such as airborne, satellite and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) solutions are useful investigation tools for vineyard site specific management.

The table grape industry in Europe is undergoing significant changes. For instance, in Italy, the national register of vine varieties was established in 1969, and since then, many varieties of table grapes have been registered. In the first thirty years, from 1969 to 1999, 62 seeded and 24 seedless varieties were registered. In the subsequent period, from 2000 to the present day, 23 seeded varieties and 99 seedless varieties were registered.

Wine research in the past years has mainly been focused on laboratory scale due to the possibility of controlling winemaking variables. Conversely, studies on wine quality in relation to the winemaking variables at the winery scale may be able to better account for the actual challenges encountered during wine production. Winemaking problems are recently arising from progressive changes in environmental conditions in relation to the terroir. It is important to realize that each wine region may have specific winemaking protocols and that winemakers often base their decisions on subjective, emotional, and empirical opinions. Due to all the above-mentioned issues, taking the correct decision in winemaking to achieve the desired goals may become even more challenging.

La composition du raisin de la variété Muscat d’Alexandrie a été étudiée dans trois terroirs différents au Nord-Est de la Tunisie (RafRaf, Baddar et Kelibia).
Des échantillons de raisins ont été récoltés à maturité industrielle durant les saisons 2001 et 2002 dans les trois régions citées. Les paramètres pomologiques (poids moyen de la grappe et de la baie) et physico-chimiques

Galicia est une région située dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Espagne avec une longe tradition de culture de la vigne. A jour d’oui la vigne occupe en Galicia presque 28.500 ha, desquelles 8.100 correspondent aux 5 zones ayant droit à l’appellation DO (« Denominación de Origen ») équivalent aux AOC françaises.