Productivity, quality, and thermal needs of the Piedirosso vine: four years of observations

The consumption of wine in traditional wine-producing countries like Italy, Spain, and France is decreasing.

Rootstocks are gaining importance in viticulture as a strategy to combat abiotic challenges, as well as enhancing scion physiology and attributes. Therefore, understanding how the rootstock affects photosynthesis is insightful for genetic improvement of either genotype in the grafted grapevines. Photosynthetic parameters such as maximum rate of carboxylation of RuBP (Vcmax) and the maximum rate of electron transport driving RuBP regeneration (Jmax) have been identified as ideal targets for breeding and genetic studies. However, techniques used to directly measure these photosynthetic parameters are limited to the single leaf level and are time-consuming measurements.

Climate change (CC) is altering grape/wine composition, challenging wine sensory quality. Rising temperatures increase grape sugar levels, with higher wine ethanol (EtOH) contents, reduce total acidity (TA) converging with increased pH and lead to the accumulation of CC odorous markers such as γ-nonalactone (γ-C9) and massoia lactone (ML).

Enzymatic browning of grape must remains a major issue in winemaking, especially when grapes are affected by grey rot.

Monoterpenes are important aroma compounds in white wines. Many monoterpenes are chiral and the chiral forms have different aroma qualities.