Viticulture is globally important for socioeconomic and environmental reasons. The EU is globally leading grape and wine production, and Spain is among the top grape and wine producers. As climate change affects viticulture, mitigation and adaptation are crucial for protecting grape production. In this research work, data on viticultural management practices such as soil cultivation, irrigation, energy, machinery, plant protection and the use of fertilizers from vineyards located in Logroño (La Rioja) have been obtained.

Questo simposio organizzato dall ‘Associazione nazionale Città del Vino, che mi onoro di presiedere, è per me motivo di particolare soddisfazione perché porta a compimento parte di un percorso iniziato dall’associazione da alcuni anni e che ha un obiettivo apparentemente semplice: sollecitare gli amministratori delle Città del Vino a perseguire con tenacia, tal­volta anche con la necessaria caparbietà, programmi ed interventi che abbiano al centro, sempre, la qualità della vita dei loro territori.

Tannins are a heterogenous class of polymeric phenolics found in grapes, oak barrels and wine. In red wine tannins are primarily responsible for astringency, though they also have an important role in reacting with and stabilizing pigments. There are numerous sub-classes of tannins found in wine but they all share structural heterogeneity within each sub-class, with varied polymer composition, configuration and length.

Numerous methodologies exist for the quantification of tannins, however, protein precipitation using bovine serum albumin has proved itself useful due to its strong correlation to the sensory perception of astringency and the basic instruments required for the method. Though the method can yield valuable insights into tannin composition, it cannot be automated easily and necessitates well-trained personnel.

Aims: In previous work, five indigenous Pichia kluyveri strains, GS1-1, FS-2-7, HS-2-1, C730 and C732, were isolated and selected from spontaneous fermented wines from Ningxia and Gansu. The aims of this study were to 1) evaluate resistance of these strains to environmental stressors that may restrict their growth and the progress of alcoholic fermentation; 2) Investigate their fermentation dynamics; 3) Characterise aroma profiles of Cabernet Sauvignon wines made from mixed cultures of P. kluyveri and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Must oxidation is a complex process involving multiple enzymatic transformations, including the oxidation of phenolics containing an ortho-diphenol function. The latter process has a primary influence on wine aroma characteristics and stability, due to the central role of ortho-diphenols in the non-enzymatic oxidative reactions taking place during winemaking and in finished wine. Although oxidation of must is traditionally avoided, in recent years its contribution to wine quality has been revisited, and in some cases improvements to wine aroma have been observed with the application of controlled must oxidation. Nowadays there is a great interest in the wine industry towards the identification of specific markers or patterns to characterize and classify the response of grape must to oxidation.