Vine environment interaction as a method for land viticultural evaluation. An experience in Friuli Venezia Giulia (N-E of Italy)

Downy mildew, a disease caused by Plasmopara viticola (Berk. et Curt.) Berl. and De Toni, is one of the strongest threats to grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) production. Recently, sources of resistance to downy mildew were identified among Caucasian germplasm. Among them, the Georgian variety Mgaloblishvili revealed a unique resistance mechanism. A genome wide association study (GWAS) allowed the identification of the genetic bases of Mgaloblishvili resistance, the loci Rpv29, Rpv30 and Rpv31. To dissect the three resistance loci, Mgaloblishvili genome was sequenced using PacBio HiFi reads and assembled.

Red wine ageing is an important step in the red wine evolution and impacts its chemical and sensory characteristics through many chemicals and physico-chemical reactions. The kinetics of these evolutions depend on the wine studied and influence the wine ageing potential. Generally, high quality red wines require a longer period of bottle ageing before consumption¹. The ageing potential is an impor-tant parameter for wine quality and is related to the capacity of a wine to undergo oxidation over time². Phenolic compounds which are ones of the main substrates for oxidation can then potentially modulate ageing potential³.

Grapevine yield and fruit quality are two major drivers of input allocation and, ultimately, revenue for grape producers. Because yield and fruit quality vary substantially from year-to-year and within a single block, opportunities exist for optimization via precision management activities that could lead to more profitable and sustainable grape production. Here, we review recent advances in the techniques and technology used to measure, estimate, and forecast grapevine yield and fruit quality. First, we discuss direct “measurement” of yield and quality (i.e. ground-truth data generation), with an emphasis on potential for scalability and automation. Second, we discuss technology and techniques that do not directly measure yield and quality, but use correlated measurements for their estimation.

A new process for vacuum evaporation was developed where evaporation takes place near the inner surface of a vortex produced by a rotor submerged in the liquid. Contrary to the state of the art the Vortex rotor process does not need a vacuum vessel but the rotating liquid creates a geometrically stable low pressure void surrounded by a vortex stabilized by the equilibrium between centrifugal forces and the pressure difference. First tests with water and sugar solutions at concentrations similar to grape must were conducted to verify the theoretical predictions, test the performance under different conditions and study the effect of various process parameters (Rösti et al 2015).

Just over 150 years ago, phylloxera, daktulosphaera vitifoliae, was introduced to europe, and particularly france, from north america via imports of american vitis plants. This aphid, with its complex biology and life cycle, has spread rapidly to most vineyards, causing rapid and lethal decline of v. Vinifera vines due to the primary and secondary damage it causes to the roots. In response to this pest, and given the economic importance of the french wine sector, professional representatives organised into ‘agricultural societies’, scientists and public authorities rallied together to identify the exact causes, seek solutions and try to stem the serious socio-economic crisis that ensued.