High density balsamic vinegar: application of stable isotope ratio analysis to determine watering down.

Plants in their natural environment are in continuous interaction with large numbers of potentially pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms. Depending on the microbe, plants have evolved a variety of resistance mechanisms that can be constitutively expressed or induced. Phytoalexins, which are biocidal compounds of low to medium molecular weight synthesized by and accumulated in plants as a response to stress, take part in this intricate defense system.1,2
One of the limitations of our knowledge of phytoalexins is the difficulty of analyzing their spatial responsiveness occurring during plant- pathogen interactions under natural conditions.

The use of hybrids in viticulture is one of the alternatives for sustainable production in hot and rainy regions during grapevine maturation. This sustainable production concerns the reduction of pesticide use, adaptation to climate and control of vine decline. The SR 0.501-17 wine grape hybrid, developed in the grapevine program of the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC), is characterized by producing white grapes with small spherical berries with seeds. The agronomic characterization of this hybrid, especially in different climatic conditions, as well as the evaluation of its performance in winemaking are necessary. The objective of this work was to characterize the duration and thermal requirements of the different phenological stages and the influence of rainfall on the physicochemical characteristics of the must in two contrasting climate regions of the State of São Paulo.

Over the past two decades, climate change has contributed to an increase in sugar content in grape must, and consequently, in the ethanol levels of wines.

Grape Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch) ordinarily has great difficulty establishing leaf galls on the European Grapevine (VitisviniferaL.). Yet populations of leaf-feeding Phylloxera are increasingly being observed throughout commercial vineyards world-wide. Effective plant protection strategies including quarantine actions are currently missing to fight, grape phylloxera populations in affected vineyards and combat linked negative effects on vines and yield. Contrary to the otherwise mandatory continuous infestation pressure from externally established populations (e.g. from populations developed on rootstock foliage or other interspecific hybrids, these leaf-feeding populations seem to establish themselves annually.

In viticulture, climate change significantly impacts the plant’s development and the quality and characteristics of wines. These variations are often observed over short distances in a wine-growing region and are linked to local features (slope, soil, seasonal climate, etc.). The high spatial variability of climate caused by local factors is often of the same order or even higher than the temperature increase simulated by the different IPCC scenarios.