Territorio e vino tra immagine e comunicazione

In recent years red wines are being produced in Andalusia from indigenous and foreign grape varieties, one of which is the Spanish variety Tempranillo.

Fungicides play a critical role in managing grapevine downy mildew caused by the oomycete Plasmopara viticola, a biotrophic and polycyclic pathogen with a high risk of fungicide resistance. Zoxamide, categorized as a low to medium resistance risk, disrupts cell division by inhibiting tubulin polymerization. Resistance to zoxamide is uncommon in field isolates. This six-year study (2017-2022) aimed to detect and quantify zoxamide sensitivity in P. viticola populations across varying resistance pressures in Italian grapevine regions. Analysis of 126 samples from 57 vineyards, mainly in North-Eastern Italy, revealed that most samples exhibited EC50, EC95, and MIC values below 0.1 and 10 mg/L of zoxamide, respectively. Nineteen vineyards showed reduced sensitivity (MIC>100 mg/L), but only four samples were characterized by 24-54% resistant oospores at >100 mg/L of zoxamide.

SO2 is an additive widely used as antimicrobial in winemaking industry. However, this compound can negatively affect health, so the search for alternatives is currently a line of research of great interest. One of the proposed alternatives to SO2 as an antimicrobial is the use of bioprotection yeasts, which colonize the medium preventing the proliferation of undesirable microorganisms.

Heat and water stress can accelerate berry sugar accumulation and lead to excessive sugar-to-acid ratios at harvest, producing bland, overly-alcoholic wines. Selecting grapevines for slower sugar accumulation could help maintain wine quality under future, hotter conditions, but these efforts have been stymied by our limited understanding of the traits determining sugar accumulation rates. Here, we measured traits characterizing the structure and anatomy of the sugar transport system – the phloem – in 16 winegrape cultivars and tested for relationships with sugar accumulation rates and cultivar climate classifications.

Moscatel de Setúbal is a Portuguese fortified wine with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO Setúbal), made from Moscatel de Setúbal grape variety (Muscat of Alexandria) [1].