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Biotech advances in wine production

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Subido el 6 de agosto de 2007 por EducaMadrid

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Over the centuries, epidemics and insect invasions have on different occasions come close to destroying all of Europe's vineyards. Wine growers are often obliged to combat these scourges by using chemical products. In Europe, however, the man in the street, the public powers and farmers are reluctant when it comes to genetically modified organisms, even if genetic engineering enables vines to resist disease and insects. The report was produced as part of the EURONEWS FUTURIS programme. It is available to television stations at no cost and royalty-free. The report includes interviews with: Alexandra Boudrot, œnologist, Caves de Beblenheim Olivier Lemaire, virologist, INRA Serge Scharwatt, Director, Caves de Beblenheim Roberto Viola, in charge of genetic research at IASMA Giovanni Gius, Director, IASMA

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Juicy and perfectly shaped, grapes like these have been producing great wines for centuries. 00:00:00
Winemakers have developed their own methods and traditions to give their wine its own 00:00:10
identity. 00:00:15
Compared with other regions in France, Alsace is just a small wine-producing region, but 00:00:22
the grapes from here are appreciated for their distinctive fresh and fruity character. 00:00:28
Timing is an important factor in the quality of the product. That's why viticulture experts 00:00:34
like Alexandre Boudreau of the Cave de Blebenheim collects grapes every week to determine the 00:00:39
best time to harvest them. 00:00:44
The quality of the grapes depends on a variety of criteria and is the result of many different 00:00:46
things that happen throughout the year, from planting until harvesting. So you have to 00:00:52
take all these criteria into account to get perfect maturity of the grapes and get the 00:01:01
best quality wine. 00:01:06
But grape vines are very vulnerable plants. Throughout the centuries, Europe's wine industry 00:01:10
has been threatened by viral diseases, mold and mildew. 00:01:15
Some kinds of vine have been protected using traditional breeding techniques to create 00:01:22
resistant plants. 00:01:26
Grafting together the fruit-bearing part of the vine with roots from another plant can 00:01:28
also help control disease. 00:01:33
Sometimes, however, winemakers must turn to chemical solutions such as pesticides, which 00:01:37
can be damaging to soil. 00:01:44
At the French National Research Institute in Colmar, experts are looking at ways of 00:01:47
protecting vines and, with them, Europe's wine industry as it competes with the New 00:01:52
World wines. France will have lost around four percent of its wine exports by 2008. 00:01:56
Italy will have lost almost a third. In the meantime, producers in Australia, the United 00:02:03
States, Chile and South Africa have embraced new technologies and increased the volume 00:02:08
as well as improving quality. 00:02:13
Scientists in Colmar have developed a plant that is resistant to viral disease. The root 00:02:15
part of the vine has been genetically modified to be immune to grapevine fanleaf virus, a 00:02:20
particularly threatening virus to vineyards. 00:02:26
Another virus is introduced to the root part of the plant, which changes its genetic make-up, 00:02:33
rendering it resistant to grapevine fanleaf virus. It becomes immune to viruses spread 00:02:38
by nematodes in the ground. This resistant rootstock is then grafted to a scion, or the 00:02:44
fruit-bearing part of the vine that has not been genetically modified. 00:02:52
This ensures that grapes themselves are natural, as Olivier Lemaire of the Institute explains. 00:02:59
This part here is the rootstock of the wine plant, and this is the only part in this experiment 00:03:22
that is genetically modified. Here you have the grafting point, and all of this part is 00:03:27
non-transgenic. 00:03:32
But the use of advanced science in winemaking is opposed by some traditionalists, says Serge 00:03:36
Charvat of the Carve de Bebelheim. 00:03:41
In France, it's still something of a taboo. It creates major controversy from an ecological 00:03:46
point of view. There are protests, and in some cases, critics destroyed these wine plants 00:03:54
in the region because of the experiments in Alsace. I think we need to do these tests 00:04:01
under strict surveillance, because plant modifications and grafting have been used in the past, and 00:04:10
we need to do something. 00:04:17
The Colmar experiment will continue until 2009. Meanwhile, at the Instituto Agrario 00:04:25
San Michel alle Dije in Italy, a big breakthrough has been made. Researchers have managed to 00:04:33
decipher the entire DNA sequence of the grapevine genome. The genetic code is now available 00:04:40
for researchers and viticulturists alike. Financed by the regional government of the 00:04:46
Trento province, a team of Italian and American scientists finished the decoding of the 19 00:04:51
chromosomes of the genome in all about 500 million elements, or nucleotides. 00:04:57
Italian genetics expert Roberto Viola led the sequencing projects in the Adige Valley. 00:05:06
He hopes that the results of his team will lead to new methods to fight against the plant 00:05:12
diseases that many Italian wine producers are suffering from. 00:05:16
The secret here is to make the plant defend itself, and we know we can do that once we 00:05:27
understand the mechanisms behind the resistance genes that protect plants against pathogens, 00:05:35
and when we do that, if we do that, we can then get the plant to defend itself without 00:05:42
having us all the time to come to the rescue of the plant spraying chemicals on it. 00:05:48
Despite the field studies in Colmar and the lab breakthrough in Italy, it's unlikely that 00:05:55
genetically engineered wine will be grown and harvested soon. But researchers are certain 00:06:00
their work can now allow them to understand exactly what makes a good tipple. 00:06:08
With the knowledge of the wine genome, we can find out more about the characteristics 00:06:18
of a wine's quality and what gives certain regions distinctive tasting wine. This will 00:06:25
put the old system of winemaking in the province in a position where it can gain strength in 00:06:31
the market. 00:06:35
Back in Alsace, wine technician Alexandra Boudreaux is out amongst the vines almost 00:06:41
every day, examining the grapes and collecting samples. The fruits of her labour will benefit 00:06:46
the 130 or so wine growers who use the Bebelenheim Cooperative to crush and ferment their grapes. 00:06:55
They count on new technologies and Alexandra's frequent checks to find out when their grapes 00:07:03
should be picked. 00:07:08
We wait to have a good balance between the sweetness and the acidity of the grapes. This 00:07:13
is when we decide to start the harvest. 00:07:20
Most wine producers in Europe remain opposed to the idea of genetic modification, as do 00:07:28
most consumers. But basic research is moving forward carefully and experts hope winemakers 00:07:33
will, before too long, be raising their glasses to the best quality wine possible. 00:07:40
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Idioma/s:
en
Niveles educativos:
▼ Mostrar / ocultar niveles
      • Nivel Intermedio
Autor/es:
The European Union
Subido por:
EducaMadrid
Licencia:
Reconocimiento - No comercial - Sin obra derivada
Visualizaciones:
671
Fecha:
6 de agosto de 2007 - 9:29
Visibilidad:
Público
Enlace Relacionado:
European Commission
Duración:
07′ 47″
Relación de aspecto:
4:3 Hasta 2009 fue el estándar utilizado en la televisión PAL; muchas pantallas de ordenador y televisores usan este estándar, erróneamente llamado cuadrado, cuando en la realidad es rectangular o wide.
Resolución:
448x336 píxeles
Tamaño:
39.76 MBytes

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