Significance of factors making Riesling an iconic grape variety

Tempranillo is the most widely grown red grapevine variety in Spain, currently representing 42% of the total number of red varieties and 21% of the total vineyard area. Due to the economic importance that this variety represents in Spanish viticulture, in some areas where it is traditionally grown, there is a special concern about the viability of the future growing of this variety is being compromised by the climate change effects.

In a context of climate change and excessive use of agrochemical products, sustainable approaches for environmental and human health such as the use of bio stimulants in viticulture represent a potential option, against abiotic and biotic threats. Bio stimulants are organic compounds, microbes, or a combination of both, that stimulate plant’s vital processes, allowing high yields and good quality products. In vines, may trigger an innate immune response leading to the synthesis of secondary metabolites, key compounds for the organoleptic properties of grapes and wines.

In this video recording of the IVES science meeting 2023, Simone Vincenzi (Department of agronomy, food, natural resources, animals and environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Italy) speaks about the prevention of quercetin precipitation in red wines with a promising enzymatic solution. This presentation is based on an original article accessible for free on OENO One.

Grapevines are grown grafting 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 are primarily used to provide root resistance to the insect pest Phylloxera. In addition to Phylloxera resistance, ideally grapevine rootstocks should be resistant to other soil borne pathogens and adapted to abiotic stress conditions. New rootstocks have the potential to adapt agriculture to climate change without changing the characteristics of the harvested product. However, high grafting success rates are an essential prerequisite.

The positive contribution of toasted vine-shoots (SEGs, Shoot from vines – Enological – Granule) used in winemaking to the chemical and sensory profile of wines has been widely proven. However, the combination of this new enological tool with other winemaking technologies, such as micro-oxygenation (MOX), has not been studied so far. It is known that micro-oxygenation is used in wineries to stabilizes color, improves structure or combining with oak alternatives products to achieve a more effective aroma integration of wines. For that, its implementation in combination with SEGs could result in differentiated wines.