Effect of the commercial inoculum of arbuscular mycorrhiza in the establishment of a commercial vineyard of the cultivar “Manto negro“

Balsamic vinegars of Modena (Italy), namely Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI (AB PGI) and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena PDO (ABT PDO) are among the most important geographical indication products for Italy. ABT PDO, despite its very limited production, is recognized as one of the most representative Italian artisan gastronomic products, and it is known and commercialized all around the world. The economic value of ABT PDO (“affinato” and “extra-vecchio” types, depending on the aging), prepared following a traditional way and aged for many years in a set of barrels (transferring a certain amount of vinegar from one cask to another in a decreasing “topping up” procedure) is great, when compared to AB industrially prepared with caramel. AB PGI is certainly the most widespread industrial-type vinegar in the world, deriving from low-temperature condensed grape must (or cooked must) mixed with wine vinegar, obtaining balsamic vinegars with a caramel-like taste. Depending on its economic value, ABT PDO is often object of fraud, requiring to fight counterfeit products and imitations.

“Vinum debet esse naturale ex genimine vitis et non corruptum”. The Eucharistic wine must be made with pure grapes that must not be contaminated in any way. This is how wine was born in the monastery of the Augustinians, and that is how the genetic improvement of grapevine implemented over the decades at the Agricultural Institute of San Michele all’Adige (since 1874; Trentino – Italy) has been oriented to make the cultivation of grapes always more sustainable. This concept is still current and meets the worldwide urgent need of reducing the use of chemicals, under a climate crisis scenario. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the varieties introduced in Trentino and the new cultivars produced by pioneer breeders have already embraced the principle of sustainable viticulture.

In a long-term experiment carried out in Chinon vineyard (37, France) during 23 years, the effects of several organic amendments were studied on soil, vine, grapes and wine. Four main treatments were compared on a calcareous sandy soil: control without organic amendment, dry crushed pruning wood at 2.1.t-1.ha-1.year-1 (D1), cow manure at 10 t-1. ha-1.year-1 (D1) and cow manure applied at 20 t-1.ha-1.year-1 (D2). D1 levels were calculated to fill the annual humus losses by mineralization.

Right after the pouring of champagne in a glass, thousands of rising and bursting bubbles convey gas-phase CO2 and volatile organic compounds in the headspace above the champagne surface, thus progressively modifying the gaseous chemical space perceived by the consumer [1]

Initiatives have been ongoing in recent years to safeguard biodiversity in the oenological sector via a process of enhancement of ancient varieties, under a pressure of a market strongly oriented towards production deriving from native vines of specific geographical zones. In that sense, Aosta Valley
(Italy) has raised the need to preserve and characterize its minority vine varieties which have the potentiality to give varietal wines. Fumin represents the 7% of the production of the region with 16 hectares of vineyards and 753 hectolitres of derived wine. Due to its large phenolic potential, strong astringency and deep colour, it has long been, and is still today, assembled or blended with other varieties as occurs, for example, for the Torrette.