In viticulture, testing new practices often means testing patience: destructive sampling, lab delays, and long hours spent on measurements instead of interpretation. That’s exactly what Antoine Portaluri, founder of Vitiz in Épernay (France), wanted to change. His company develops plant-based preparations for vineyards and his mission is to validate their impact directly in the field. Since 2022, Antoine has relied on Nutriscope™ to measure how his foliar applications affect plant Redox, pH, and mineral balance, quickly, non-destructively, and with reliable data he can share with growers.
Nutriscope has revolutionized my way of working: faster, simpler, and reliable.
Antoine Portaluri, Founder of Vitiz
Antoine, can you tell us about your work?
My name is Antoine Portaluri, I’m based in Épernay (France), where I run Vitiz. I design plant-based preparations for vines, such as decoctions, infusions, fermented extracts. My work is both to create them and to commercialize them, but above all to run field trials with growers to observe their direct impact on the vine.
How did you discover Nutriscope?
In 2022, I discovered NIR1700 [Note fron the editor: Our gen 1 scanner] through Ver de Terre Production [Note from the editor: a French regenerative agriculture association and podcast]. At that time, I was already measuring Redox with the Husson kit. It was interesting, but far too time-consuming and destructive for vines. With Nutriscope, all that is in the past: no more leaf sampling, no more sap extraction. It’s quick, simple, and above all reliable.
Over the years, I’ve also adopted Nutriscope and its portal. The portal is very well designed, and its improvements are very useful.
What does Nutriscope bring to your work?
I focus on both Redox and minerals. Before Nutriscope, I had no tools to quantify them. Now I run trials with partner winegrowers to see how my foliar preparations influence pH, Redox, and mineral status.
What’s the biggest benefit?
Compared with the Husson kit, LaquaTwin probes, or sap analysis, Nutriscope is a real leap forward: speed, practicality, no heavy handling. It has revolutionized my way of working.Before, I spent endless time on measurement. Now, I can concentrate on interpretation and experimentation. The only question left is how to optimize sampling density per hectare to ensure perfect representativeness. Today I take about 15 measurements, but I may need to increase that number or repeat them on the same vine.
And for the future?
For now, I don’t see any real limitation to Nutriscope. I look forward to future developments, maybe one day a real-time sap sensor, without even pinching leaves? In any case, I won’t be going back to older tools.
How would you conclude and would you recommend Nutriscope?
Nutriscope is practical, fast, and user-friendly. It helps me validate my preparations and prove their effectiveness to growers with precise data, while saving me precious time. Yes, I recommend it without hesitation.