Vine: multi-site VSCU trials piloted by applicants
The CTPS Vine Section examines the agronomic, technological and environmental value (VSCU) of varieties that are candidates for registration in the Catalogue on the basis of data collected in trials carried out by applicants on sites chosen by them, which are representative of the wine-growing terroirs where these varieties could be planted. This practice, which is anchored in the CTPS’s Technical Regulations for examining vine varieties, has its advantages and requires a specific framework, as detailed below.
Here are some of the advantages of conducting agronomic, technological and environmental value (VSCU) trials by registrants at sites they define:
- The parcel is located in a terroir of wine-growing interest, suited to the production of a quality product,
- The parcel is located in a wine-growing area that is looking to diversify its range of varieties,
- The parcel is planted in the same way as local vineyards: spacing, rootstock, trellising, grass cover, etc.
- The parcel is managed using the same technical itinerary as the surrounding vineyards,
- The control variety is specific and local, in line with local practices,
- The wine is produced according to the local technical itinerary, or even the local AOC/IGP,
- The diversity of the VSCU trial parcels reflects the diversity of wine production in France,
- If the trial is successful, the parcel will not be grubbed up, and the investment in experimentation to describe the VSCU will be more profitable.
The Technical Regulations (TR) for examining vine varieties, approved by ministerial decree, specify the framework for these non-centralised trials.
An annex to the RT lists the information to be provided to characterise vine variety VSCU trial sites: location, altitude, topography, exposure, soil analysis, soil profile, depth, previous crop, weather, nearby environment, exposure to the risk of water stress, surrounding health pressure. The plantation must also be described: plan of the parcel with the experimental set-up, planting density and spacing, trellising, training and pruning methods, soil maintenance, etc.
Another annex to the RT specifies the trial network: “at least two sites, representative of the production basins for which the varieties in demand are intended, […] a control variety registered in the Catalogue and well adapted to local conditions, […] random blocks with at least 3 replicates, and the total number of plants per varietal modality (control and variety in demand) must not be less than 90”.
The CTPS experts appointed by the Catalogue Commission carry out an examination of the variety proposed for registration by visiting the VSCU trial parcels. In fact, the RT specifies that “Trials may be visited by experts appointed by the section and/or by the technical secretary of the section, prior to and during the period of observations and measurements. This trial visit is systematically organised at the end of the 3 years of observation […] when the grapes are ripe, before harvest and in the presence of the applicant and any partners”.
This system makes it possible to evaluate the value of a candidate vine variety as closely as possible to its future conditions of use, which are highly dependent on local vine locations, using a protocol that is nonetheless standardised and under official control.
