L’étude “terroirs d’Anjou”: un exemple de caractérisation intégrée des terroirs viticoles, utilisable à l’échelle parcellaire

In Ancient Egypt, wine was a luxury product consumed mainly by the upper classes and the royal family and offered to gods in daily religious rituals in the temples.
Since the Predynastic (4000-3100 BC) period, wine jars were placed in tombs as funerary offerings. From the Old Kingdom (2680-2160 BC) to the Greco-Roman (332 BC-395 AD) period, viticulture and winemaking scenes were depicted on the private tombs’ walls. During the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC), wine jars were inscribed to indicate: vintage year, product, quality, provenance, property and winemaker’s name and title.

A multidisciplinary approach aiming at studying the grape-growing areas also referred as “Terroir” was initiated a few years ago in Switzerland.

Grapevines are susceptible to freezing damage at temperatures below -5°F during the winter season. Preventing winter injury to grapevines is a major challenge in many grape-producing regions. Conventional methods such as hilling-up soil over graft unions have been developed as winter protection methods for preventing vine loss. However, these practices have drawbacks such as soil erosion, vine damage and crown gall development.

The soil plays a pivotal role in the agroecological transition processes, due to its numerous implications in production support, water regulation, air and nutrient supply, and its function of reservoir for the major part of planet biodiversity. Therefore, soil quality and adequate soil management are key levers for an ecologically and economically sustainable viticulture. Gascogn’Innov (2017-2022) is an Operational Group funded by the European Innovation Partnership for Agriculture. As such, it gathered winegrowers from the south-west of France (Gascony), scientists, advisors and technicians, around a project focused on the biological functioning of viticultural soil and the design of better-adapted technical paths for soil protection.

The South African wine industry is taking an interest in the enhancement of red wine total antioxidant capacity (TAC) with retention of sensory quality to satisfy the demands of increasingly discerning consumers. The focus is especially on the unique South African red wine cultivar, Pinotage.