Comparative study of qualitative and quantitative characters of grape cultivar ‘Mavrodafni’ (Vitis vinifera L.) grown in different regions of the PDO Mavrodafni Patras

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study – ‘Mavrodafni’ (Vitis vinifera L.) is considered one of the oldest grapevine cultivars indigenous to the Greek vineyard, with western Peloponnese being its primary center of cultivation. ‘Renio’ is considered to be either a variant of ‘Mavrodafni’ or an altogether different cultivar. Both ‘Mavrodafni’ and ‘Renio’ can be found in the vineyards of the centers of cultivation, since ‘Renio’ is considered to be more productive compared to ‘Mavrodafni’, and for this reason, it has gradually replaced ‘Mavrodafni’ from cultivation over the course of time. The aim of the present study was to assay the mechanical properties, the polyphenolic content and the antioxidant capacity of skin extracts and must of berries coming from ‘Mavrodafni’ and ‘Renio’, cultivated in the same vineyard as well as in the different regions of cultivation of the PDO Mavrodafni Patras.

Material and methods – Samples of ‘Mavrodafni’ and ‘Renio’ were collected from six different regions of cultivation of the PDO Mavrodafni Patras. The samples collected in the different regions originated from the same vineyards. In view of the study’s aim, the samples were studied and analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a diode array detector and spectrophotometer in order to determine total soluble solids, pH, total titratable acidity, polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity.

Results – The results revealed that, in general, ‘Mavrodafni’ and ‘Renio’ exhibited different polyphenolic profile in the case where the samples originated from the same vineyard as well as in the case where the samples originated from different regions of the PDO Madrodafni Patras. In particular, the must of ‘Mavrodafni’ exhibited higher concentration in sugars, with a statistically significant difference compared to ‘Renio’, while there were no differences recorded neither in total titratable acidity of the must nor in the average weight of bunch. ‘Mavrodafni’ recorded the highest concentrations in skin total phenolics, skin total anthocyanins, skin total tannins in all studied regions, with a statistically significant difference compared to ‘Renio’. ‘Mavrodafni’ and ‘Renio’ contained appreciable amounts of quality characters of grape and must, depending on the different regions where they are cultivated, and they would be worthy of further study and use for the production of different types of wines.