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Vine growing
“The trend towards organic conversion is based on the social awareness of our members”, adds Philippe Cazaux.

Tuesday April 06 2021

Bordeaux converting to organic on a massive scale

Although no precise figures are as yet available, the wave of conversions to organic in the vineyards of Bordeaux is undoubtedly growing:
Vine growing
To make matters worse, on April 1, Emmanuel Buisson feared radiation frost on Sunday morning, April 4, in the South-East, Bordeaux area, the Loire Valley and Burgundy.

Monday April 05 2021

French vineyards on maximum frost alert

The co-founder of the Weather Measures company and agricultural meteorology specialist, Emmanuel Buisson would have liked to make an April (...)
Winemaking
To the best of our knowledge, there is only one product that can stabilise wines specifically against calcium precipitation and that is STABICa from the Champagne research centre.

Thursday April 01 2021

An increase in calcium precipitation in wines

"Unlike potassium bitartrate, which has transparent crystals, neutral calcium tartrate has a whitish appearance in white and rosé wines. (...)
Vine growing
Regarding adaptation of vineyard management techniques, the report advises reducing tillage and switching to more surface procedures, or even just mowing.

Thursday March 25 2021

Just planting trees won’t “foster biodiversity in vineyards”

Agroforestry is undeniably on-trend, in fact it’s decidedly fashionable in the wine industry with plantings and trials rapidly increasing. (...)
Equipment
These initial tests still need to be confirmed by further trials.

Thursday March 18 2021

First tests, and effects, of exoskeletons on winegrowers’ backs

Once you’ve tried it, you’ll want to keep it. After a week of exoskeleton tests at the beginning of March on several different (...)
Winemaking
“Testimonials by winemakers out on the ground all [showed that they] recovered completely after a few weeks. But this required rehabilitation and intense daily tasting exercises”, said Sophie Pallas.

Tuesday March 16 2021

French winemakers want priority status for Covid-19 vaccinations

Since Covid-19 upended the world a year ago, there are still many unknown aspects of the disease, but there is one certainty: “We now (...)
Winemaking
Further testing is needed to understand all these interactions.

Thursday March 11 2021

The pigments responsible for a wine’s colour also change its flavour

Anthocyanins not only give wine its colour, they also change its flavour. That is according to Maria Alessandra Paissoni, from the University (...)
Wednesday March 10 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
Among estates that are not certified, a large proportion have said that they are interested in HVE certification, pointed out the producers’ organisation.

Côtes de Bourg confirms its compulsory HVE certification

On 25 February, the board of the Côtes de Bourg producers’ organisation confirmed the decision taken a year ago, on 6 February 2020, (...)
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Monday March 08 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
Heavy rains wreaked havoc in the vineyards of two Gironde winegrowers

Bordeaux vines get swept away in landslide

One afternoon at the beginning of February, Jean-Christophe Darriet who heads up Château Dauphiné Rondillon in Loupiac, went to one of his (...)
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Wednesday March 03 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
The varietal range can be a lever for adjusting to climate change.

Burgundy grape varieties put to the climate change test

Should Burgundy change grape varieties to survive climate change? This challenging question was raised during the Vinosphere event hosted (...)
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Wednesday February 24 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
A first group of winegrowers have said they want to trial the heirloom varieties.

Savoy all-set to trial 7 heirloom vine varieties for appellation wines

On February 11, the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) rubber-stamped an application for seven varieties designed for adaptation (...)
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Thursday February 18 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
This relatively clean system has been added to the CIVC's “sustainable winegrowing in Champagne” standard.

A more environmentally-friendly way of combatting frost

Steel construction specialist Claude Gros first had the idea of combatting frost using vine canes fifteen years ago. “At the time, no (...)
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Thursday February 11 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
According to Alix Combes (left), Arinornoa is very tannic and Marselan is particularly easy to manage, whilst Touriga Nacional has the advantage of displaying low alcohol content. Lack of ripeness can imply worthwhile potential for adaptation.

Médoc winegrowers want to get a taste of four new grape varieties, from the South and the past

Climate change and demand for less alcoholic wines have prompted a question – which grape varieties will be the new Cabernet-Sauvignon (...)
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Tuesday February 09 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
The researchers blended wines from diseased vines with wines from healthy vines to ensure that the grapes harvested from the vines showing symptoms could be reincorporated into the rest of the crop.

Good news - Esca has no effect on wine quality

What can you do with grapes from vines affected by Esca? Should they be cut before the harvest or can they be incorporated into the crop? (...)
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Friday January 29 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
Nationwide, applications for new planting permits fell by 1,500 ha between 2021 and 2020.

In 2021, Cognac can plant 2,306 ha of vines versus 1.5 ha for Bordeaux and 0.1 ha for Alsace

On 20 January, FranceAgriMer's specialist wine board approved a quota for new plantings totalling 5,101 hectares for 2021. This translates (...)
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Friday January 22 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
In its robotics R&D work, Pellenc focuses mainly on “repetitive tasks such as tillage or containment spraying. We are also planning to automate pre-pruning or even pruning”.

“Tomorrow’s robots will not be marketed by today’s start-ups” claims Pellenc

The managing director of French machine manufacturer Pellenc is in no doubt – only companies like his, with a sound distribution network, (...)
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Tuesday January 19 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
After planting their first trees in 2008, they launched their holistic approach in 2014 and feel it is within everyone’s reach.

Agroforestry pioneers Benoit and Delphine Vinet are Vitisphere readers’ personalities of the year

The Bordeaux winegrowing couple was acclaimed by our readers for the 2020 top 20 in wine. They have run Domaine Emilie Grelier (18 hectares (...)
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Monday January 18 2021 - Winemaking by Vitisphere
Including essential oils and equipment, a kit costs less than fifty euros for three months.

A technique for regaining taste and sense of smell after Covid

“Whether Covid-induced or not, impairment of sense of smell or taste affects 5 to 15 % of the population”, explains Laurence Gény, (...)
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Wednesday January 13 2021 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
The Viti-Tunnel also warded off black rot, dead arm disease and grey rot. To combat powdery mildew, which only requires dampness and wind to spread, the partner chateaux used 2 to 4 kg per hectare of wettable sulphur every 10 to 20 days.

A tunnel shelters vines from 80% of plant protection products

A tunnel formed by two stainless steel tubes which unroll a waterproof tarpaulin over vines when a sensor at the end of the row detects that (...)
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Friday December 25 2020 - Vine growing by Vitisphere
Pierre Desprat accepts his reputation as the custodian of volcanic wines. His personal vision is that only wines from volcanic plots should eligible for the endorsement.

Official endorsement and geo-oenological studies in the pipeline for ‘Volcanic wine’

There is no white smoke yet, but a few fumaroles are already indicating that volcanic vineyards are reaching boiling point. “We can (...)
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