Assessment of climate change impacts on water needs and growing cycle on grapevine in three DOs of NE Spain

Aim: The aim of this work is educating people about soil variability, vine rootzone depth and readily available water holding capacity. The concept of terroir is readily discussed in the wine industry but many people involved are unable to describe a soil profile and interpret its limitations that impact on vine growth, fruit quality and wine produced. This paper discusses soil physical characteristics important to vine root growth and readily available water holding capacity (RAW).

The physical factors that influence the grape ripening include elevation, slope, aspect, potential global radiation, sun hours and soil type of the vineyards.

Da dove scaturisce tutto l’interesse attuale per il terroir? Si provi, per dare risposta a questo quesito, ad immaginare il vino avulso dalla sua dimensione territoriale. Cosa si otterrebbe? Un vino bianco, un vino rosso o quant’altro, ma comunque un prodotto privo di conno­tazione geografica, di premesse storiche, di radici tradizionali, di potere evocativo, di iden­tità e di personalità.

Post-harvest grape berries dehydration/withering are worldwide applied to produce high-quality sweet and dry wines (e.i., Vin Santo, Tokaji, Amarone della Valpolicella). Temperature and water loss impact grape metabolism [1] and are key variables in modulating the production of grape compounds of oenological interest, such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), secondary metabolites responsible for the aroma of the final wine.
The aim of this research was to assess the impact of post-harvest dehydration on free and glycosylated VOCs of two Italian red wine grapes, namely Nebbiolo and Aleatico, dehydrated in tunnel under controlled condition (varied temperature and weight-loss, at constant humidity and air flow). From these grapes Sforzato di Valtellina Passito DOCG and Elba Aleatico Passito DOCG, respectively.

The universalization in wine production has been restricting the imprint of terroir in regional wines, resulting in loss of typicity. Microbes are the main driving force in wine production, conducting fermentation and originating a myriad of metabolites that underly wine aroma. Grape berries harbor an ecological niche composed of filamentous fungi, yeasts and bacteria, which are influenced by the ripening stage, cultivar and region. The research project GrapeMicrobiota gathers a consortium from University of Zaragoza, University of Minho and University of Tours and aims at the isolation of native yeast strains from berries of the wine region Douro, UNESCO World Heritage, towards the production of wines that stand out in the market for their authenticity and for reflecting their region of origin in their aroma.