Elemental composition, measured as the concentrations of different elements present in a given tissue at a given time point, is a key indicator of vine health and development. While elemental composition and other high-throughput phenotyping approaches yield tremendous insight into the growth, physiology, and health of vines, costs and labor associated with repeated measures over time can be cost-prohibitive. Recent advances in handheld sensors that measure hyperspectral reflectance patterns of leaf tissue may serve as an affordable proxy for other types of phenotypic data, including elemental composition. Here, we ask if reflectance patterns of dried Chambourcin leaf tissue from an experimental grafting vineyard can predict the known elemental composition of those leaves.

Taints and off-flavours are one of the major concerns in the wine industry and even if the issues provoked by them are harmless, they can still have a negative impact on the quality or on the visual perception of the consumer. Nowadays, the frequency of occurrence of mousy off-flavours in wines has increased.
The reasons behind this could be the significant decrease in sulphur dioxide addition during processing, the increase in pH or even the trend for spontaneous fermentation in wine. This off-flavour is associated with Brettanomyces bruxellensis or some lactic acid bacteria metabolisms.

Despite the numerous research studies carried out in recent years, the study of wine aroma remains of great interest due to its complexity. Wine maturation in oak barrels is described as an important step in the production of quality wines. In fact, oak wood develops several aromatic nuances through its toasting which can be released into the wine. A great deal of work has been performed in order to identify the wood-derived volatile compounds that contribute to wine aroma (e.g., whisky-lactone, maltol, eugenol, guaiacol, vanillin).

New Zealand viticulture has long been characterised by sustainable grape growing practices as promoted by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) as well as by Organic Viticulture.