Viticulture
28 October 2020
How to measure and manage the soil effect in terroir expression
Terroir relates the taste of wine to the place where it was produced. It involves the influence of climate, soil, cultivar and viticultural practices. Huge progression has been achieved over the past years in the understanding of how the soil ...
30 September 2020
Berry primary and secondary metabolites in response to sunlight and temperature in the grapevine fruit zone
The chemical composition of berries at harvest, which will affect wine styles, is determined by complex physiological processes occurring from set through the fruit’s lifetime to maturity, and this is closely ...
18 September 2020
Leveraging the grapevine drought response to increase vineyard sustainability
Climate change will likely increase the risk of drought because of increased temperatures and changing rainfall patterns, and growers are already struggling to adapt. This is apparent in the increased use of irrigation in traditionally ...
7 September 2020
Key facts about rotundone and practical ways to pepper your wine with this fascinating aroma compound
In 2008, the sesquiterpene rotundone was identified as the main contributor to the aroma of black pepper in wine. Since then, this potent aroma compound has been detected in several grape varieties. In most cases, rotundone is positively ...
12 August 2020
Does water deficit negatively impact wine grape yield over the long term?
Like many other woody perennial crops, grapevine reproductive development occurs over a two-year cycle. Given that water deficits are commonplace in viticulture, especially for red wine grape production, this raises questions about how water ...
6 August 2020
Downy mildew is able to carry out its sexual cycle on resistant grape varieties
Previous studies have shown that new resistant grape cultivars limit epidemics caused by asexual reproduction of downy mildew. However, until now, there was a lack of knowledge on the sexual phase of the pathogen. This study demonstrates that ...
1 July 2020
Forcing vine regrowth: a new technique to delay grape ripening until a cooler period
One of the most important climate change-related effects on wine grapes is the advance in harvest period. A strategy to counteract this effect consists in postponing berry ripening until the conditions are cooler. A technique for forcing vine ...
24 June 2020
Strategies for adapting vineyards to a changing climate. (Re)-Learning from Mediterranean viticulture
Mediterranean areas face high temperatures, heat waves, and episodes of drought. These episodes are becoming more frequent in non-Mediterranean areas due to climate change. This paper will address viticultural practices used by Mediterranean ...
10 June 2020
A few words on grapevine leaf water potential
The majority of vineyards are grown under limiting water supply, with consequences on grapevine physiology, berry growth and composition/quality versus wine styles. Assessing vine water status is crucial to understand vine function and to ...
5 June 2020
Apex-Vigne: A mobile application to facilitate the monitoring of growth and estimate the water status of the viticulture plots
The observation of apex growth is a simple method that was introduced to monitor the existence of hydric constraints in the vineyard (Rodriguez Lovelle et al., 2009; De Toda et al., 2010). Based on the direct observation in ...
13 May 2020
Grapevine Latent Bud Dormancy and Shoot Development
Grapevine development comprises different phenological stages from bud break to berry maturation which are mainly temperature and water dependent. Pre bud break, there is a crucial stage called dormancy which can be divided in two periods: ...
23 April 2020
Beware the brown marmorated stink bug!
The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) is a hemipteran insect in the Pentatomidae family native to eastern Asia. This extremely polyphagous species is spreading rapidly worldwide. It is responsible for ...
27 March 2020
Water as a critical issue for viticulture in southern Europe: sustainability vs competiveness
Water is a vulnerable resource in the Mediterranean region, but irrigation demands have been increasing to mitigate effects of environmental stress. Sustainable wine production involves the precise use of water in the vineyard and winery. ...
14 October 2019
Phenology: Follow the internal clock of the Vines
The development of the vine throughout the year is punctuated by the appearance of key stages such as the bud-burst, the flowering and the veraison. The precise monitoring of these stages on the scale of a vineyard is essential in ...
12 October 2019
Vineyard variability: can we assess it using smart technologies?
VitiCanopy is a smart-device computer application (app) that allows users to measure and interpret objective canopy architecture and its spatial distribution in the vineyard thus allowing for informed and targeted vineyard management ...
11 October 2019
Viticulture in a changing climate: solutions exist
Grape growers have always cultivated vineyards in challenging environments, adapting their practices to sometimes very difficult local conditions. Climate change, as a new player, is modifying the terroirs’ characteristics rapidly and ...
9 October 2019
Defoliation of the vines before or after berry set: Physiological consequences and qualitative factors
Defoliation of the vines consists of eliminating the leaves in the grape bunch zone in a more or less intensive manner. It is a long-proven prophylactic technique that has seen a renewed interest in the current context of the reduction of ...
5 October 2019
Understanding Esca: watch out for the grafting type!
Black measles in English, Esca in French, Escha in Italian, Yesca in Spanish, Iska in Greek… This nightmare for winegrowers around the world creates confusion about its development and characteristics. Nevertheless, research progress has been ...
3 October 2019
"Biocontrol" Products: Of relative efficiency in combating botrytis.
Botrytis effects the yield and the quality of grape musts. To protect again these damaging effects, winegrowers target their combat against this disease with the application of phytosanitary products and prophylactic ...
1 October 2019
Measuring the phenology to more effectively manage the vineyard
Phenology is concerned with the periodic phenomenon of the vine growing cycle (bud burst, flowering, veraison), in relation to the climate. It is a veritable biological clock of the vines. The timing of the numerous ...