French-Chinese wine lab created to tackle climate change

A new research lab has been set up by China and France that will enable about 30 researchers and scientists to look into the creation of new grape varieties that are better adapted to climate change.

The Innogrape Laboratory will bring together 23 research professors in Bordeaux and 10 research professions in Beijing to conduct research on wine, mainly focusing on the creation of new varieties and berry maturation mechanisms in the context of global warming over a period of five years, according to French media Vitisphere.

The lab was born out of a collaboration between INRA, the University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux Sciences Agro and the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS).

This is part of a larger collaboration between China and France on subjects related to soil, climate, genomics, agricultural practices, food, plant and agroecologyto name a few.

The idea of Innogrape lab was proposed by French president last year, but the materialisation of the lab was officially formalised during president of INRA, Philippe Mauguin’s visit to China in October.

Commenting on the potential for new grape varieties and rootstocks, Dr. Zhanwu Dai, research manager for the eco-physiology and functional genomics of vines at INRA Bordeaux, said: “The issue is about sharing our expertise to select vines that are resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses (downy mildew, powdery mildew, phylloxera, drought, extreme temperatures…). It is about identifying the best parents, obtaining hybrids through crossing, and making seeds germinate, for instance.”

Climate change has already warmed up the earth by one degree Celsius since the 19th century, and a new UN report looked at the impacts of further rise on plants, animals, water, arctic, corals, sea level etc.