Sustainable fertilisation of the vineyard in Galicia (Spain)

The development of off-flavours in wine distillates, particularly those associated with the tails fraction, is a key issue in the production of high-quality spirits.

Many varietal white wines have aroma qualities that incorporate various tropical fruit aromas. These tropical fruit aromas are found to be considered positive qualities of the wines with consumers having positive emotional responses [1].

The use of new technologies such as microwaves (MW) arose in recent years as an efficient alternative to reduce the use of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and as a method for improving wines in terms of color and aroma [1, 2]. MW (non-ionizing electromagnetic waves with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz) have been widely applied in the food industry in order to reduce processing time and favor food preservation.

Grapevines are grown grafted in most viticultural regions. Grapevine rootstocks are either hybrids or pure species of different American Vitis spp. (particularly V. berlandieri, V. rupestris and V. riparia), which were primarily used to provide root resistance to the insect pest Phylloxera. In addition to Phylloxera resistance, grapevine rootstocks were also selected in relation their resistance to various abiotic stress conditions. Future rootstocks should have the potential to adapt viticulture to climate change without changing the characteristics of the harvested product. However, high grafting success rates are an essential prerequisite to be able to use them with all the varieties. The objective of this work is to develop quantitative techniques to characterize graft union formation in grapevine.

Must fermentation is a complex process influenced by various factors, especially microbiological activities. The characteristics and quality of the resulting wine are closely linked to the stages that unfold throughout this progression.