Soil survey and chemical parameters evaluation in viticultural zoning

Non-Saccharomyces starter cultures became increasingly popular over the years because of their potential to produce more distinctive and unique wines. The major benefit of the use of Lachancea thermotolerans as a fermentation starter is its ability to produce relevant amounts of lactic acid and reduce alcoholic strength, making it valuable for mitigating negative impacts of climate change on grapes and wine quality. Besides, like any other non-Saccharomyces yeast, L. thermotolerans can significantly affect a whole range of other physico-chemical wine parameters.

Aims: DOSAVIÑA® was developed with the aim of helping farmers to determine optimal volume rates for spray applications in vineyards. The final developed tool is a good example of bringing research to end users.

It was at the end of the second world war that professor Branas laid the foundations of french vine selection. He was also behind the creation of domaine de vassal (1949) and antav (1962), which were to become the bridgeheads of the french strategy for the conservation, selection and multiplication of viticultural diversity. Initially based on visually virus-symptom-free massal selections, with the main aim of providing healthy, clearly-identified plant material, the process evolved as knowledge gained towards clonal selection.

Wine production is a complex biochemical process that involves a heterogeneous microbiota consisting of different microorganisms such as yeasts, bacteria, and filamentous fungi. Among these microorganisms, yeasts play a predominant role in the chemistry of wine, as they actively participate in alcoholic fermentation, a biochemical process that transforms the sugars in grapes into ethanol and carbon dioxide while producing additional by-products. The quality of the final product is greatly influenced by the microbiota present in the grape berry, and the demand for indigenous yeast starters adapted to specific grape must and reflecting the biodiversity of a particular region is increasing. This supports the concept that indigenous yeast strains can be associated with a “terroir”.

The wine industry widely recognizes that early-harvested grapes or those with uneven ripeness at harvest can produce wines with an “unripe fruit” mouthfeel [1,2]. Despite this, it is still unknown which compounds cause these sensory flaws or the most effective winemaking techniques to address them.