Influence of weather and climatic conditions on the viticultural production in Croatia

Climate change presents a significant challenge to grape growing worldwide as increased temperatures lead to wines with increased sugar and pH levels. Manipulation of the exposed leaf area is a powerful lever governing the assimilation and storage of non-structural carbohydrates in grapevines. Reducing the leaf-to-fruit ratio is now considered as a tool for adapting to hotter and dryer grape growing conditions.

‘Pinot Precoce Noir’ (PPN) is an early ripening clone of ‘Pinot Noir’ (PN). The phenological differentiation is visible by an about two weeks earlier onset of veraison. It was found that the early veraison locus Ver1 on chromosome 16, previously identified in ‘Calardis Musqué’, originated from PPN. A highly correlated SSR marker, namely GF16-Ver1, was developed and tested for its ability to molecularly differentiate between PPN and PN as well as its potential to trace individual descendants.

AIM: The composition and quality of wine are directly linked to microorganisms involved in the alcoholic fermentation. Several studies have been conducted on the impact of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on volatile compounds composition after fermentation. However, if different studies have dealt with combined sensory and volatiles analyses, few works have compared so far the impact of distinct yeast strains on the global metabolome of the wine.

The grapes producing and wine making regions are différent in their use of agricultural, industrial or agroindustrial means. These means are quite often very original and/or specialised; and lately are also quite competitive. Such means are being defined with increased accuracy in the delimitation and definition of its characteristics (Paneque et al., 1996 a). Human action together with other Elements and Agents involved in the vine growing production (Reyner, 1989) over these means lead to agronomic systems with important characteristics. Finally, the transformation of the vine growing production, through different technologies (Fleet, 1992), results in the creation of products with a different acceptance and economical value in the market.

Most vineyards are grafted and include a variety (Vitis vinifera) grafted over a wild Vitis rootstock (hybrids of V. berlandieri, riparia and rupestris). Grape berry quality at harvest depends on a subtle balance between acidity and the concentrations of sugars, polyphenols and precursors of aroma compounds. The mechanisms controlling the balance of sugars/acids/polyphenols are influenced by the abiotic environment, in particular nitrogen supply, and interact with the genotypes of both the scion variety and the rootstock. Previous work suggests that some of the effects of water stress are in fact linked to a nitrogen deficiency driven indirectly by the reduction of water absorption.