Extreme canopy management for vineyard adaptation to climate change: is it a good idea?

In field conditions, grapevine roots are colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Little is known about the species composition of AMF communities associated to grapevine.

The acıkara grape variety, a nearly forgotten native black variety in Anatolia/Turkey, has recently gained interest in its potential for producing high-quality wine from producers and consumers. The potential of producing high-quality red wine from the Acıkara grape variety (vitis vinifera), which is cultivated on the elmalı/antalya in the highland (1100 m altitude) of western mediterranean region, was investigated, and the suitability of the wine’s characteristics associated with high-quality red wine was determined.

The type of soil management, tillage versus cover crops, can modify the soil microbial activity, which causes the mineralization of organic N to NO3–N and, therefore, may change the soil NO3–N availability in vineyard. The soil NO3–N availability could influence the grapevine nutritional status and the grape amino acid composition. Amino acids are precursors of biogenic amines, compounds mainly formed during the malolactic fermentation. Biogenic amines have negative effects on consumer health and on the wine organoleptic quality. The objective was to study if the effect of conventional tillage and two different cover crops (leguminous versus gramineous) on grapevine N status, could relate to the wine biogenic amines composition.

To characterize in depth the enological productions according to the origin territories and to provide modern tools for the qualitative raising of the assorted typologies of wine produced, Veneto Agricoltura (the regional agency for the agriculture, forestry and food industry development), the Regional Government of Veneto (north-eastern Italy) and various Consortia of Producers have undertaken since 2002 a systematic classification of the viticultural territories by agro-ecological zoning to achieve a strategic project aimed to set Veneto as the first Italian region to have completed in a systematic and scientifically rigorous way the zoning of most of its Denomination of Origin areas.

Those previous years, pesticides are often brought to the forefront by media. Questions arose about their toxicity for growers and consumers. Even if a downward trend is underway, the use of pesticides is required to ensure steady quality and quantity of harvests. A large number of active ingredients are authorized but regarding viticulture, mainly insecticides and fungicides are applied, to control pests and diseases and to increase crop yield. Some phytosanitary products, principally fungicides, applied close to the harvest date may frequently be detected in wines.