Influence of irrigation on water status, productivity, yield and must composition in Tempranillo grapevine under Duero Valley zone conditions

Aims: This study aims to: (1) characterize the agroclimatic conditions of the Portuguese Denominations of Origin, using a compound index that combines thermal and soil water balance conditions and a high-resolution climatic dataset (~1 km spatial resolution); (2) categorize the main grapevine varieties as a function of this compound index.

Oxidation processes constitute a main problem in winemaking. Oxidation result in color browning and varietal aroma loss, which are key attributes of wine organoleptic quality [1]. Despite the mechanisms involved in wine oxidation have been extensively reviewed [2], the protection of wine against oxidative spoilage remains one of the main goals of winemaking.
SO2 is one of the most efficient wine antioxidants used to prevent oxidation and microbial spoilage. However, intolerances caused by SO2 have led to the reduction of its concentration in wines.

Aim: A soil mapping methodology based on gamma-ray spectrometry and soil sampling has been applied for the first time in Burgundy. The purpose of this innovative high-resolution mapping is to delimit soil areas, to define elementary units of soil for terroir characterization and vineyard management. The added value of this integrated approach is a continuous geophysical mapping of the soil with an investigation depth of 60cm.

The postharvest dehydration of grapes is a traditional practice to obtain wines with unique traits (e.g. sweet, dry/reinforced). The modern facilities (dehydrating rooms) used for this purpose are equipped with systems for artificially controlling the inside environment parameters, to obtain the desired dehydration kinetic and preserve the grapes from grey mold (Botrytis cinerea) infection, However, the conditioning systems are extremely energy-demanding and the identification and practical applications of solutions effective in controlling/reducing the postharvest decay would reduce the costs of the operation of the dehydration facilities. To this end, we explored the potential of ozone-based treatments on harvested grapes and preliminarily tested if the treatment could impact the normal behavior and metabolism of grapes during the traditionally slow dehydration practice.

Grapevines are grown grafted in most viticultural regions. Grapevine rootstocks are either hybrids or pure species of different American Vitis spp. (particularly V. berlandieri, V. rupestris and V. riparia), which were primarily used to provide root resistance to the insect pest Phylloxera. In addition to Phylloxera resistance, grapevine rootstocks were also selected in relation their resistance to various abiotic stress conditions. Future rootstocks should have the potential to adapt viticulture to climate change without changing the characteristics of the harvested product. However, high grafting success rates are an essential prerequisite to be able to use them with all the varieties. The objective of this work is to develop quantitative techniques to characterize graft union formation in grapevine.