Green berries on Gewürztraminer (Vitis vinifera L.) in South Tyrol (Italy)

Some wine producers, in good years, can produce free-SO2 red wines and decide to add the minimum amount of sulphur dioxide only at bottling. To manage this addition

Among the different strategies used in vine growing to fight against mold diseases, it can be pointed out the hybridation of traditional grape varieties with others, presenting a genetic resistance to pathogen attack. The research in this field has been encouraged in recent years due to the increased concern about human safety and environmental pollution linked to the use of agrochemicals. This approach allows to limit the number of treatments and the type of active compounds used in vine management. The environment determines the pressure degree of the diseases on vines and the biologic response of the plant to their attack.

More recently, studies have shown that polyphenols could also prevent or improve vision in patients with ocular diseases and especially age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is an eye disease characterized by damage to the central part of the retina, the macula, and that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite therapeutic advances thanks to the use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), many resistance mechanisms have been found to accentuate the visual deficit.

Context and purpose of the study. Climate change is a major challenge in wine production. It results in erratic weather conditions which may lead to a reduction in grape yield and the subsequent grape and wine quality.

The characterization of the plant is the obliged pathway between the environment and the product. The responses of the plant amplify or reduce the variations of the environment, while determining directly the type and the quality of the products. These results are inscribed inside the Viticultural Terroir Unit (VTU). VTU is the complex interaction between the Basic Terroir Unit or BTU (interaction mesoclimate x soil/subsoil), the genotype (variety x rootstock), the management system, the oenological technologies. Thus, at the most complex level, a global biological triptych is found again : environment (source) x plant (structure) = produced and exchanged substances.