Overwintering covered with soil or avoiding burial of wine grapes under cold stress: Chinese wine industry's past and future, challenges and opportunities

Abstract In northwest China, where winter is extremely cold and the grapevine is vulnerable to freezing damage, the application of soil covering has promoted the vigorous development of the local grape and wine industries. However, in recent years, the negative effects of burying soil for cold protection on the environment have gradually emerged. In some viticultural regions, the phenomenon of "summer forest, winter desert" has appeared. Therefore, it is urgent for the Chinese grape industry to find a better solution to overwinter safely and environmentally friendly. This review summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of widely used solutions to overwinter such as covering vines with soil, breeding of cold-resistant grapes, cold-resistant cultivation model, physical and chemical covering materials, and protected grape facilities were reviewed. Future overwintering measures were proposed which avoid burial and grape overwintering research directions. It also provides a theoretical foundation and technical support to improve grape yield and quality in northwest China.