Sustainable Wine Production Research Articles

From compliance to co-production: Emergent forms of agency in Sustainable Wine Production in New Zealand

This article engages with non-human agency through the interrogation of the emerging role of metrics in the governance of sustainability in the New Zealand primary sector. In it, we argue that the agency of the metrics builds on previous work that has elaborated the impact of audited best practice on the subjectivities of producers and processors, including the recent examination of the active influence of metrics that engenders unexpected and uncontrolled change in social networks of production. In this case, the analysis of the influence of metrics shifts to those used within a recently introduced ‘learning’ tool (Wine Industry Sustainability Engine) that can be classified as an effort in transition management. The capacity of metrics as agents is already apparent in the perceived interactions and engagements with the Wine Industry Sustainability Engine tool as expressed by likely users during assessments of the usability of initial pilot software. Using their response, we demonstrate that, despite intentions to use the tool to foster particular sets of practices and ethics through benchmarking, the metrics have multiple roles in production worlds—compelling compliance to regulations, creating new ways to communicate complex relations and practices, and generating information for reflexive self-evaluation. Through these roles, we argue, metrics clearly operate as both a material and ontological non-human actor, expressed in different ways in different assemblages. This conclusion has implications for the application of transition management more broadly, and helps us to better understand what we want metrics to accomplish, what they can accomplish, and the possible gap between the two.

Sustainability experiences in the wine sector: toward the development of an international indicators system

Increasing awareness for sustainability has led to the proliferation of initiatives in the wine industry. These initiatives mainly aim at managing the environmental aspects of wine production. In this context, the identification of suitable indicators is crucial to evaluate the industry's progress toward sustainability. Firstly, in the present study, the main environmental impacts of wine production are reviewed, with specific reference to LCA studies. On this baseline, the main programs from the New World, Europe and Italy that address sustainability in the wine sector are examined. Results show that each program has its strengths and weaknesses, but there is still a large margin to merge the best of these programs in one unique protocol internationally recognized. Therefore, the authors have compared the set of indicators employed by two specific wine industries initiatives (the Italian VIVA and Californian CSWA) and the indicators implemented by the wine Italian companies certified with the Environmental Management System (EMS), defined by the European Regulation EMAS. A specific evaluation framework has been developed to assess the comprehensiveness of these indicators in terms of their capacity to address the triple bottom line of sustainability. Findings reveal that while VIVA consider environmental, economic and social aspects, CSWA and EMAS focus mainly on environmental impacts of wine production. Additionally, only EMAS has an approach to the evaluation of raw materials efficiency and waste management. The outcome of the study integrates existing literature on sustainable wine production, expanding the scope of previous analysis and introducing an evaluation framework that stakeholders of the industry may apply to introduce new indicators sets to assess sustainability performances of wine producers.

The challenging issue of climate change for sustainable grape and wine production

<p>Grape production, wine quality, climatic conditions and geographical origins are closely related, making ongoing climate change a quite challenging issue for this economic sector. How will climatic conditions be affected locally ? How will local climate interact with topography, resulting in high climatic variability at vineyard scale ? How will vine performance, berry composition and wine quality be modified ? And what can be done to adapt vine growing and wine making practices to these new conditions ? These are the key questions the wine industry has to address in the following decades. In this context, it is obvious that this issue will require the development of close collaboration between actors, including producers and wine makers, extension services, marketing, policy makers and scientists. For the scientific community, addressing the climate change issue requires multidisciplinary studies and new scientific approaches.</p>

Developmental, molecular and genetic studies on grapevine response to temperature open breeding strategies for adaptation to warming

<p class="Abstract" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aim:</strong> In the long term, genetic improvement is one of the major strategies to support sustainable wine production in a changing climate. Over the past 5 years, we have developed an interdisciplinary research program that aimed to: i) characterize the impact of temperature increase sensed by the entire plant or individual bunches on the development and functioning of the plant, ii) identify the physiological and molecular mechanisms regulating the response of vegetative and reproductive development to heat stress and iii) develop tools to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of plant and berry development in duly controlled, stable, and contrasting environmental conditions.</p><p class="Abstract" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results:</strong> Performing high-throughput genomic analyses combined with the use of innovative experimental designs (fruiting cuttings, microvines, single berry sampling) was critical to decipher the ecophysiological and molecular mechanisms involved in the vine response to high temperature.</p><p class="Abstract" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Warming promotes vegetative growth and hampers plant carbon balance, disturbing flower set and young berry development. High temperatures modify primary and secondary fruit metabolisms, desynchronizing sugar and organic acid metabolisms and delaying sugar and polyphenol accumulation during ripening. The study of day and night transcriptomic and proteomic signatures associated with heat highlighted key players of the response to temperature in the fruit. </p><p class="Abstract" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Significance and impact of the study:</strong> Capitalizing on this knowledge, a new program is being proposed for the selection of cultivars limiting the accumulation of sugars in the berry while maintaining other qualitative compounds.</p>

Developmental, molecular and genetic studies on grapevine response to temperature open breeding strategies for adaptation to warming

Aim: In the long term, genetic improvement is one of the major strategies to support sustainable wine production in a changing climate. Over the past 5 years, we have developed an interdisciplinary research program that aimed to: i) characterize the impact of temperature increase sensed by the entire plant or individual bunches on the development and functioning of the plant, ii) identify the physiological and molecular mechanisms regulating the response of vegetative and reproductive development to heat stress and iii) develop tools to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of plant and berry development in duly controlled, stable, and contrasting environmental conditions.Methods and results: Performing high-throughput genomic analyses combined with the use of innovative experimental designs (fruiting cuttings, microvines, single berry sampling) was critical to decipher the ecophysiological and molecular mechanisms involved in the vine response to high temperature.Conclusion: Warming promotes vegetative growth and hampers plant carbon balance, disturbing flower set and young berry development. High temperatures modify primary and secondary fruit metabolisms, desynchronizing sugar and organic acid metabolisms and delaying sugar and polyphenol accumulation during ripening. The study of day and night transcriptomic and proteomic signatures associated with heat highlighted key players of the response to temperature in the fruit. Significance and impact of the study: Capitalizing on this knowledge, a new program is being proposed for the selection of cultivars limiting the accumulation of sugars in the berry while maintaining other qualitative compounds.

Sustainable Wine and Grape Production, the Example of Hungary

Abstract Before analysing the economic situation of winegrape production, it is practical to mention some issues concerning the industry. Grape production in Hungary suffered a severe crisis in the 1990’s regarding both production and sales. Its consequence is the decreasing area of grape production and the reducing number of grape producers. Lately, after our EU accession the grape and wine verticum has significantly improved. The situation is still grave today as the producers have to face the more and more intense competition in the market and cheap import products both on the national and international markets. Grape production is in a more disadvantaged situation than wine making and the risks are higher. We have to know the cost-profit situation of the well-discernible verticum parts to make recommendations. Despite the changes, the great fluctuation in income is typical for the industry. Grape is one of the plants where price often did not cover costs in the consecutive years. Costs of production cannot be assessed on their own. They can be judged in relation with the yield changes in real.

Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion of winery wastewater sludge and wine lees: An integrated approach for sustainable wine production

In this work, winery wastes generated by a cellar producing approximately 300,000 hL of wine per year was monitored for a period of one year. On average, 196 L of wastewater, 0.1 kg of waste activated sludge (dry matter) and 1.6 kg of wine lees were produced per hectoliter of wine produced. Different winery wastes, deriving from different production steps, namely waste activated sludge from wastewater treatment and wine lees, were co-treated using an anaerobic digestion process. Testing was conducted on a pilot scale for both mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The process was stable for a long period at 37 °C, with an average biogas production of 0.386 m3/kg CODfed. On the other hand, for thermophilic conditions, volatile fatty acids accumulated in the reactor and the process failed after one hydraulic retention time (23 days). In order to fix the biological process, trace elements (iron, cobalt and nickel) were added to the feed of the thermophilic reactor. Metals augmentation improved process stability and yields at 55 °C. The pH ranged between 7.8 and 8.0, and specific gas production was 0.450 m3/kg CODfed, which corresponded to dry matter and COD removals of 34% and 88%, respectively. Although the observed performances in terms of biogas production were good, the thermophilic process exhibited some limitations related to both the necessity of metals addition and the worse dewaterability properties. In fact, while the mesophilic digestates reached a good dewatering quality via the addition of 6.5 g of polymer per kg of dry matter, the required dosage for the thermophilic sludge was greater than 10 g/kg of dry matter.

Impact of Fungicide Residues on Polymerase Chain Reaction and on Yeast Metabolism

ABSTRACT The indiscriminate use of pesticides on grape crops is harmful for consumers´ healthin “in natura” consumption and in the ingestion of wine and grape juice. During winemaking, a rapid and efficient fermentation stage is critical to avoid proliferation of contaminating microorganisms and to guarantee the product´s quality. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has the advantage of detecting these contaminants in the early stages of fermentation. However,this enzymatic reaction may also be susceptible to specific problems, reducing its efficiency. Agricultural practices, such as fungicide treatments, may be a source of PCR inhibiting factors and may also interfere in the normal course of fermentation.The action of the pesticides captan and folpet on PCR and on yeast metabolism was evaluated, once these phthalimide compounds are widely employed in Brazilian vineyards. DNA amplification was only observed at 75 and 37.5 µg/mL of captan concentrations, whereas with folpet, amplification was observed only in the two lowest concentrations tested (42.2 and 21.1µg/mL).Besides the strong inhibition on Taq polymerase activity, phthalimides also inhibited yeast metabolism at all concentrations analyzed.Grape must containing captan and folpet residues could not be transformed into wine due to stuck fermentation caused by the inhibition of yeast metabolism. Non-compliance with the waiting period for phthalimide fungicides may result in financial liabilities to the viticulture sector.The use of yeasts with high fungicide sensitivity should be selected for must fermentation as a strategy for sustainable wine production and to assure that products comply with health and food safety standards.

Modern viticulture in southern Europe: Vulnerabilities and strategies for adaptation to water scarcity

Water is now considered the most important but vulnerable resource in the Mediterranean region. Nevertheless, irrigation expanded fast in the region (e.g. South Portugal and Spain) to mitigate environmental stress and to guarantee stable grape yield and quality. Sustainable wine production depends on sustainable water use in the wine’s supply chain, from the vine to the bottle. Better understanding of grapevine stress physiology (e.g. water relations, temperature regulation, water use efficiency), more robust crop monitoring/phenotyping and implementation of best water management practices will help to mitigate climate effects and will enable significant water savings in the vineyard and winery. In this paper, we focused on the major vulnerabilities and opportunities of South European Mediterranean viticulture (e.g. in Portugal and Spain) and present a multi-level strategy (from plant to the consumer) to overcome region’s weaknesses and support strategies for adaptation to water scarcity, promote sustainable water use and minimize the environmental impact of the sector.

NMR- and UHPLC-MS correlation for identification of biomarkers from woods of Vitis Vinifera cultivar resistant to pathogens

Vitis cultivars exhibit different susceptibility to pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea or Plasmopara viticola (downy mildew of grape). Therefore the selection of resistant species is important for a sustainable wine production without use of pesticides. The wood extracts from three cultivars with different resistance to pathogens were profiled by HR-NMR, UHPLC-(NI)-ESI-TOF-MS and UHPLC-(NI)-ESI-orbitrap-MS in order to highlight relevant biomarkers accumulated in one complete season. Differenzial metabolomics showed interesting features related to resistance with each analytic method. The comparisons of the selected features (RT and m/z for LC-MS and chemical shift for NMR) showed high convergence which was confirmed by multiple factorial analysis. The use of covariance calculation between LC-MS and NMR data was used in order to help dereplication of highlighted LC-MS features. The pseudo NMR spectra generated in this way were interestingly similar to pure compound spectra of the major biomarkers.

NMR- and UHPLC-MS-based metabolomics for the discrimination of different resistant Vitis vinifera L. cultivar woods

Vitis cultivars exhibit different susceptibility to pathogens such as botrytis or downy mildew and the selection of resistant species is important for a sustainable wine production without use of harmful pesticides. In order to highlight biomarkers that can be related to Vitis resistance to common diseases, woods of resistant vitis cultivars were profiled by NMR and UHPLC-TOF-MS [1] and analysed based on differenzial metabolomics [2]. Three different samples of Vitis wood, one resistant to botrytis, one resistant to downy mildew and one susceptible to both phytopathogenic microorganisms were used in this study. The wood samples of specific specimens were divided in 18 groups (6 per cultivar) and extracted separately with EtOAc to offer statistical confidence. Two different sample preparation protocols were developed and applied in parallel for the NMR (600MHz) and UHPLC-TOF-MS analysis of the extracts, respectively. Multivariate data analysis using both supervised (PLS-DA) and unsupervised (PCA) methods and different scaling methods revealed a clear distinction between the three groups as well as in the discrimination between the two different resistant species. A high convergence regarding the discrimination patterns between NMR and UHPLC-TOF-MS data was obtained. The NMR and MS variables derived from the loading plots were attributed to specific biomarkers. This statistical model could be efficiently applied for the determination of resistant cultivars of Vitis as well as for the identification of novel biomarkers involved in resistance phenomena.

A preliminary study on changes in phenolic content during Bianchetta Trevigiana winemaking

Autochthonous grapevine varieties are considered a biodiversity resource in viticulture and an opportunity for Italian sustainable wine production. In this study, the ancient white wine variety Bianchetta Trevigiana, considered part of the agricultural history of the Veneto region, was vinified alone, with or without maceration, in order to better understand its technological and organoleptic characteristics, with the overall objective of valorising and re-evaluating it. The evolution of phenols—compounds that are very important for the organoleptic and technological profile of wine—was monitored during the winemaking process. Results show that contact with grape skins and seeds enhance phenol extraction and produces must and wine with higher concentrations of these compounds. Moreover, it was found that the concentration of flavanols in Bianchetta Trevigiana is similar or even higher than that of red wines.

Understanding vineyard soils

The first edition of Understanding Vineyard Soils has been praised for its comprehensive coverage of soil topics relevant to viticulture. However, the industry is dynamic--new developments are occurring, especially with respect to measuring soil variability, managing soil water, possible effects of climate change, rootstock breeding and selection, monitoring sustainability, and improving grape quality and the "typicity" of wines. All this is embodied in an increased focus on the terroir or "sense of place" of vineyard sites, with greater emphasis being placed on wine quality relative to quantity in an increasingly competitive world market. The promotion of organic and biodynamic practices has raised a general awareness of "soil health", which is often associated with a soil's biology, but which to be properly assessed must be focused on a soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. This edition of White's influential book presents the latest updates on these and other developments in soil management in vineyards. With a minimum of scientific jargon, Understanding Vineyard Soils explains the interaction between soils on a variety of parent materials around the world and grapevine growth and wine typicity. The essential chemical and physical processes involving nutrients, water, oxygen and carbon dioxide, moderated by the activities of soil organisms, are discussed. Methods are proposed for alleviating adverse conditions such as soil acidity, sodicity, compaction, poor drainage, and salinity. The pros and cons of organic viticulture are debated, as are the possible effects of climate change. The author explains how sustainable wine production requires winegrowers to take care of the soil and minimize their impact on the environment. This book is a practical guide for winegrowers and the lay reader who is seeking general information about soils, but who may also wish to pursue in more depth the influence of different soil types on vine performance and wine character.