Study of wine-growing land (“terroir”) characteristics in the canton of Vaud (Switzerland): ecophysiological behaviour of the vine (cv. Chasselas)

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is the most commonly used additive during winemaking to protect wine from oxidation and from microorganisms. Thus, since the 18th century, SO₂ was almost systematically present in wines. Recently, wines produced without any addition of SO₂ during all the winemaking process including bottling became more and more popular for consumers. A recent study dedicated to sensory characterization of Bordeaux red wines produced without added SO₂, revealed that such wines were perceived differently from similar wines produced with using SO₂ and were characterized by specific fruity aromas and coolness1,2.

A Visual Information eNvironment for Effective agricultural management and Sustainability (VINES) is under development, which can provide significant competitive advantages to winegrowers by sustaining their appellation-specific grape and wine qualities and yields while measurably conserving water resources.

Two treatments were studied in vines of cv. Tempranillo blanco (Vitis vinifera L.) during the 2012-2018 period in an experimental plot located in Rincón de Soto (La Rioja, Spain). Rainfed treatment (R0) was compared with respect to an irrigation treatment (R2) equivalent to 30% of the crop evapotranspiration (ET0) from fruitset to harvest phenological stages. Pre-veraison irrigation ranged from 43 (2014) to 66 mm/m2 (2018) while post-veraison irrigation ranged from 37 (2017) to 115 mm/m2 (2012).The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was assessed by measures of reflectance, nutrients were determined by analysis of petioles sampled at veraison, grape production was determined at harvest as well as renewable wood weight was assessed at pruning time.

Aim: To quantify the extent to which national mixes of wine grape varieties (in terms of vineyard bearing area) have become more or less diversified, and ‘internationalized’, since wine globalization accelerated from the 1990s.

Wine contains secondary metabolites derived from aromatic amino acids (AADC), which can determine quality, stability and bioactivity. Several yeast species, as well as some lactic acid bacteria (LAB), can contribute in the production of these aromatic compounds. Winemaking should be studied as a series of microbial interactions, that work as an interconnected network, and can determine the metabolic and analytical profiles of wine. The aim of this work was to select microorganisms (yeast and LAB) based on their potential to produce AADC compounds, such as tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, and design a microbial consortium that could increase the production of these AADC compounds in wines.