Integration of wine cultivation history for characterizing the terroirs of Côte d’Or (Burgundy, France)

The microbial composition of the soil is an important factor to consider in viticulture, since its influence on the “terroir” and on the organoleptic properties of the wine have been demonstrated. Different agronomic techniques have the potential to modify the composition and functionality of the soil microbial community. Maintaining green covers is known to increase soil microbial diversity. The direct application of inoculum of beneficial microorganisms to the soil has also been used to increase their abundance. However, the environmental conditions of each site seem to have a determining weight in the result of these practices. In this study, we compared the effect on the microbial community of a cover crop with legumes in autumn and the inoculation of grapevines with commercial inoculum bases on Rhizophagus irregularis and Funeliformis mosseae in the previous spring. The study has been carried out in a vineyard in Binissalem, Mallorca, Spain. After applying the treatments, we will analyze the soil microbial communities using the data obtained from Illumina amplification of soil DNA from the 16S and ITS regions to analyze bacteria and fungi community, respectively. In addition, we will record the physicochemical characteristics of the soil at each sampling point. The result showed that agronomic management, in the short term, has less influence than soil characteristics on the composition of the soil microbiome. With these results, we can conclude that in a vineyard, agricultural techniques should focus on improving the characteristics of the soil to improve the biodiversity of the soil microbiota.

Aromatic characteristics of wines are strongly influenced by agronomical and enological factors, depending of the climate, cultivar and winemaking process. Tropical wines are a new concept of vitiviniculture that is being developped in the Northeast of Brazil since the 80’s, located between 8-9º latitude of the South Hemisphere, where the second most important cultivar used for reds is Tempranillo. In this condition, vines produce grapes and enologists elaborate wines twice a year, because high temperatures, solar radiation and water availability for irrigation.

Global warming is shifting vine phenology, resulting in a decoupling of phenolic and technological berry ripening. This is altering the balance of fruit traits, which is key relevance to winegrowers

Depuis 1973, une commission statutaire administre la législation qui régit le zonage vitivinicole en Afrique du Sud. La province «Le Cap de l’ouest» cerne toutes les zones viticoles sauf quatre unités. Pour la plupart, le Cap de l’ouest a un climat méditerranéen. Les zones viticoles – qui produisent les «vins d’origine» – sont des régions, des districts, des quartiers et des domaines. Les régions sont vastes, séparées par la topographie, par ex. des chaînes de montagnes et des fleuves. Généralement, chaque région représente une zone climatique. Le climat de chaque district est plus homogène. Les quartiers sont exactement délimités par le climat, la topographie et la géologie. Les domaines sont les plus petits. Chaque domaine doit avoir un seul propriétaire.

Valpolicella is a famous Italian wine-producing region. One of its main characteristic is the intensive use of grapes that are submitted to post-harvest withering. This is rather unique in the context of red wine, especially for the production of a dry red wine such as Amarone. Amarone wines produced in Valpolicella different geographic origin are anecdotally believed to be aromatically different, although there is no systematic study addressing the chemical bases of such diversity. Aroma is the product of a biochemical and technological series of steps, resulting from the contribution of different volatile molecules deriving from grapes, fermentations, and reactions linked to aging, as well as one of the most important features in the expression of the geographic identity and sensory uniqueness of a wine.