Assessing macro-elements contents in vine leaves and grape berries of Vitis vinifera using near-infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics

Considering That Innovation Supports A Company’s Competitive Advantage And Drive Higher Profits (Dogru A. & Peyrette J., 2022), A Key Challenge Of Wine Companies Is Getting Practitioners To Understand That Innovation-Related Wine Research Increases The Likelihood Of Competitive Advantage, Bringing Financial Success. A Continued And Enhanced Investment In Research Is, Thus, A Prerequisite For Commercial Success In Today’s Globalized And Competitive Wine Industry (Høj P., Pretorius I.S., & Day R., 2003).

As observed in other grape varieties, Red Grenache juice contains low level of volatiles. The main flavor compounds are ” Iock up “as flavorless glycoconjugates which could generate at the wine pH volatile flavorants and constitute the varietal aroma of this cultivar.

Eugenol, widely spread in various plants notably cloves, basil and bay, was identified too in wines from hybrid grapes without contact with oak wood. This aromatic molecule presents a strong spicy note of clove and also antifongic properties. Eugenol was described as an endogenous compound of Baco blanc, from the grapes to the spirits of Armagnac area. Moreover, this compound is a chemical marker of Baco blanc products quality.
Influences of harvest time and different winemaking processes (settling, use of enzymatic preparations, lees content and stock time before distillation) on Baco blanc wine eugenol contents were explored using a two-levels full factorial Design of Experiments (DoEs).

Wine growing regions have recently faced intense and frequent droughts that have led to substantial economical losses, and the maintenance of grapevine productivity under warmer and drier climate will rely notably on planting drought-resistant cultivars. Given that plant growth and yield depend on water transport efficiency and maintenance of photosynthesis, thus on the preservation of the vascular system integrity during drought, a better understanding of drought-related hydraulic traits that have a significant impact on physiological processes is urgently needed. We have worked towards this end by assessing vulnerability to xylem embolism in 30 grapevine commercial varieties encompassing red and white Vitis vinifera varieties, hybrid varieties characterized by a polygenic resistance for powdery and downy mildew, and commonly used rootstocks. These analyses further allowed a global assessment of wine regions with respect to their varietal diversity and resulting vulnerability to stem embolism. Hybrid cultivars displayed the highest vulnerability to embolism, while rootstocks showed the greatest resistance. Significant variability also arose among Vitis vinifera varieties, with Ψ12 and Ψ50 values ranging from -0.4 to -2.7 MPa and from -1.8 to -3.4 MPa, respectively. Cabernet franc, Chardonnay and Ugni blanc featured among the most vulnerable varieties while Pinot noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon ranked among the most resistant. In consequence, wine regions bearing a significant proportion of vulnerable varieties, such as Poitou-Charentes, France and Marlborough, New Zealand, turned out to be at greater risk under drought. These results highlight that grapevine varieties may not respond equally to warmer and drier conditions, outlining the importance to consider hydraulic traits associated with plant drought tolerance into breeding programmes and modeling simulations of grapevine yield maintenance under severe drought. They finally represent a step forward to advise the wine industry about which varieties and regions would have the lowest risk of drought-induced mortality under climate change.

Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of downy mildew (DM), and Uncinula necator, the causal agent of powdery mildew (PM), are two of the main phytopathogenic microorganisms causing major economic losses in the primary sector, especially in the wine sector, by wilting bunches and leaves with a consequent decrease in the photosynthetic rate of the plant and in the annual yield. Currently, the most widespread methods for planning spraying are based on the 3-10 rule, which states that the first application should take place when: (i) the air temperature is greater than 10°C; (ii) shoots are equal or greater than 10 cm; and (iii) a minimum of 10 mm rainfall within 24–48 hours has occurred, or at the beginning of the bud break with periodic applications according to the manufacturer’s instructions.