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A study of vine resistance to drought identifies the grape varieties and wine-growing regions most at risk

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Wine-growing regions around the world have recently been confronted with intense and frequent droughts and heat waves. Against this backdrop of climate change, scientists from the University of Bordeaux and INRAE have studied the resistance to drought of the vine's vascular system. They found that vulnerability varies widely between grape varieties, and identified the wine-growing regions most at risk. The results have been published in the Scientific Reports journal.

Photo : Continuous monitoring of the water status of the vines (psychrometers, sap flow and dendrometers) © Laurent Lamarque
Continuous monitoring of the water status of the vines (psychrometers, sap flow and dendrometers) © Laurent Lamarque

For the first time, a research team has been able to measure the drought resistance of the 30 most widely grown grape varieties in the world. This measurement was made possible by the development of the Mégacavitron, a prototype device available at the Phénobois scientific platform (in French) on the Bordeaux campus (INRAE, University of Bordeaux).

Range of variability in vascular drought resistance (P50) in grapevines. Measurements were taken on 30 varieties, including Vitis vinifera L. varieties (in red), rootstocks (in green) and hybrids (in yellow).
Range of variability in vascular drought resistance (P50) in grapevines. Measurements were taken on 30 varieties, including Vitis vinifera L. varieties (in red), rootstocks (in green) and hybrids (in yellow).

This study has made it possible to characterise the drought resistance of the vascular apparatus of the vine, and thus to identify the vineyards most at risk from a global rise in temperatures in the coming years. The authors show that there are wine-growing regions at risk in every part of the world, regardless of the climate in which they grow.

Among the grape varieties measured, hybrid vine varieties such as Floréal, Vidoc and Voltis appear to be particularly vulnerable to drought. The deployment of these varieties must therefore be considered in light of the climatic conditions in the target wine-growing regions. 

While these varieties have been genetically improved to considerably reduce their vulnerability to disease, this study demonstrates the need to use an integrated, multi-factorial approach to research in this field, by studying plant pathological resistance in conjunction with resistance to drought or late frost.

Reference

Lamarque, L.J., Delmas, C.E.L., Charrier, G. et al. Quantifying the grapevine xylem embolism resistance spectrum to identify varieties and regions at risk in a future dry climate. Sci Rep 13, 7724 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-34224-6

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