 IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 Metabolic fingerprinting and qualitative attributes of two indigenous Cypriot cultivars destined for the production of ‘commandaria’: the impact of leaf removal and dehydration process

Metabolic fingerprinting and qualitative attributes of two indigenous Cypriot cultivars destined for the production of ‘commandaria’: the impact of leaf removal and dehydration process

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study – Grapes’ sun-drying is one of the most critical steps in the production of ‘Commandaria’, a dessert wine with Protected Designation of Origin that is exclusively produced in Cyprus from grapes of the two indigenous cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.), namely ‘Mavro’ and ‘Xynisteri’. Despite its significant economic importance, no data regarding the primary and secondary metabolites of the aforementioned cultivars exist.

Material and methods – Three interrelated experiments were performed. Initially, the effect of sun-drying on the composition of ‘Mavro’ and ‘Xynisteri’ musts was dissected. Musts were analyzed at harvest and at the end of the sun-drying. Thereafter, the effect of traditional sun-drying on the composition of ‘Xynisteri’ must was compared to four alternative dehydration methods [(a) multiple horizontal wires (MHW), (b) multiple vertical pallets (MVP), (c) low greenhouse (LGH) and (d) hot-air dryer treatment (HAD)]. Finally, the effect of leaf removal at veraison stage on the composition of must obtained from fresh and dehydrated grapes of both cultivars was evaluated.

Results – Significant differences in chemical composition of the musts before and after sun-drying were monitored under the first experiment. Except for the increase of soluble solids, a significant increment in titratable acidity, total phenols and total flavonoids was recorded due to condensation effect. Moreover, forty and forty two phenolic compounds were identified and quantified by LC-DAD-qTOF-MS in ‘Xynisteri and ‘Mavro’ must, respectively. Results alsoindicated significant changes in the phenolic composition of the obtained musts. As regard the second experiment, LGH and HAD, led to a significant reduction of the dehydration period. Taking into consideration that HAD cannot exploited under the existing legal framework, LGH showed the greatest potential. Furthermore, LGH protects the grapes against several factors such as rodents, birds, insects and rain incidents. At the third experiment, leaf removal led to a reduction of soluble solids, titratable acidity, aroma potential and most of the phenolic groups of musts of both cultivars. Dehydration led to a significant increase of the aforementioned parameters in both cultivars, being more pronounced in cv. ‘Mavro’. Overall, leaf removal indicated differential response in the dehydrated product based on the cultivar considered.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: September 28, 2023

Issue: GiESCO 2019

Type: Poster

Authors

Savvas CONSTANTINOU¹, Ana Maria GOMEZ-CARAVACA², Vlasios GOULAS¹, Antonio SEGURA-CARRETERO², Alberto FERNANDEZ-GUITIERREZ², Stefanos KOUNDOURAS³, George A. MANGANARIS^1*

Presenting author

¹Cyprus University of Technology, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, 3603 Lemesos, Cyprus
²Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
³Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Agricultural, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

Contact the author

Keywords

‘Xynisteri’, ‘Mavro’, sun-drying, commandaria, LC-DAD-qTOF-MS

Citation

From a local to an international scale: sensory benchmarking of PDO wines. Quincy and Reuilly PDO wines (Sauvignon blanc) as a case study (France)

In a collective marketing strategy, the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) can be used as a quality indicator. To highlight terroir specificities, it is useful to know how the wines are positioned on the local, national or international market from a sensory point of view. This is especially true for a comparison of varietal wines (e.g. Sauvignon blanc). We focus on the case of two closed Loire Valley PDO (France): Quincy and Reuilly. Three distinct tastings were organized. Firstly, at the local level comparing the 2 PDO (11 and 9 wines, 17 professional assessors); secondly at a regional level adding 3 closed PDO: Menetou-Salon, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé (3 wines per PDO, 16 assessors) and thirdly at an international level comparing these 5 PDO with Sauvignon Blanc wines coming from South Africa, New Zealand and Chile (1 to 3 wines per PDO, 19 assessors). All the wines were from the 2019 vintage and were considered to have a traditional elaboration process without contact with oak. A sensory descriptive analysis was performed using an aroma wheel allowing to combine a Check-All-That-Apply methodology, often used in sensory benchmarking, with a hierarchical structuration of the attributes. The aim is to facilitate data acquisition in a professional context without common training, to consider the hierarchical relationships among the attributes during the data analysis and to be able to characterize wines with a large range of sensorial variability. We use univariate, multivariate and clustering analyses. Similarities and differences between Quincy and Reuilly PDO wines and other Sauvignon blanc wines were identified. Specific attributes can distinguish the two PDO and different proximities exist with other local PDO, while clear differences were observed compared to international wines. Our study contributes to propose and discuss a method to do a wine sensory benchmarking highlighting sensory specificities linked to origin.

Impact of long term agroecological and conventional practices on subsurface soil microbiota in Macabeu and Xarel·lo vineyards

There is a growing trend on the transition from conventional to agroecological management of vineyards. However, the impact of practices, such as reduced-tillage, organic fertilization and cover crops, is not well-understood regarding the soil microbial diversity, and its relationship with the soil physicochemical properties in the subsurface depth near the rooting zone. Soil bacterial diversity is an important contributor towards plant health, productivity and response to environmental stresses. A field experiment was conducted by sampling subsurface soil bacterial community (NGS and qPCR) near to the root zone of Macabeu and Xarel·lo vineyards, located at the Penedes. 3 organic (ECO) and 3 conventional (CON) vineyards, with more than 10 years of respective management were sampled (n=5 each plot). ECO practices did not affect bacterial and fungal abundance but increased significantly the ammonium oxidizing bacteria and alpha-diversity (Inv.Simpson). Interestingly beta-diversity was significantly affected by the management strategy. ANOSIM-tests revealed a significative effect of the management (ecological vs conventional) and plot, on the soil microbial structure (ASV abundance). Main phyla depicted were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, whose relative abundances were not affected by the management. EdgeR assay revealed a significant increase of Cyanobacteria and decrease of Gemmatimonadetes and Firmicutes phyla in ECO. Interestingly, the grapevine variety was not correlated with the soil microbial community structure. Mantel-test revealed an important correlation (Spearman) of some physicochemical parameters with the soil microbiota structure, in order of importance: texture, EC, pH Ca/Mg, Mg/P, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, SO42-, and OM. N-NH4 and NTK, which were higher in the ECO managed soils, did not correlated significantly with the soil microbiome population. The results revealed the importance of combining a deep physicochemical characterization of each replicate with the microbial diversity assessment to gain better insights on the relationship between soil microbiome and vineyard management.

Grapevine sugar concentration model in the Douro Superior, Portugal

Increasingly warm and dry climate conditions are challenging the viticulture and winemaking sector. Digital technologies and crop modelling bear the promise to provide practical answers to those challenges. As viticultural activities strongly depend on harvest date, its early prediction is particularly important, since the success of winemaking practices largely depends upon this key event, which should be based on an accurate and advanced plan of the annual cycle. Herein, we demonstrate the creation of modelling tools to assess grape ripeness, through sugar concentration monitoring. The study area, the Portuguese Côa valley wine region, represents an important terroir in the “Douro Superior” subregion. Two varieties (cv. Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca) grown in five locations across the Côa Region were considered. Sugar accumulation in grapes, with concentrations between 170 and 230 g l-1, was used from 2014 to 2020 as an indicator of technological maturity conditioned by meteorological factors. The climatic time series were retrieved from the EU Copernicus Service, while sugar data were collected by a non-profit organization, ADVID, and by Sogrape, a leading wine company. The software for calibrating and validating this model framework was the Phenology Modeling Platform (PMP), version 5.5, using Sigmoid and growing degree-day (GDD) models for predictions. The performance was assessed through two metrics: Roots Mean Square Error (RMSE) and efficiency coefficient (EFF), while validation was undertaken using leave-one-out cross-validation. Our findings demonstrate that sugar content is mainly dependent on temperature and air humidity. The models achieved a performance of 0.65

Bioclimatic shifts and land use options for Viticulture in Portugal

Land use, plays a relevant role in the climatic system. It endows means for agriculture practices thus contributing to the food supply. Since climate and land are closely intertwined through multiple interface processes, climate change may lead to significant impacts in land use. In this study, 1-km observational gridded datasets are used to assess changes in the Köppen–Geiger and Worldwide Bioclimatic (WBCS)

Adaptation to soil and climate through the choice of plant material

Choosing the rootstock, the scion variety and the training system best suited to the local soil and climate are the key elements for an economically sustainable production of wine. The choice of the rootstock/scion variety best adapted to the characteristics of the soil is essential but, by changing climatic conditions, ongoing climate change disrupts the fine-tuned local equilibrium. Higher temperatures induce shifts in developmental stages, with on the one hand increasing fears of spring frost damages and, on the other hand, ripening during the warmest periods in summer. Expected higher water demand and longer and more frequent drought events are also major concerns. The genetic control of the phenotypes, by genomic information but also by the epigenetic control of gene expression, offers a lot of opportunities for adapting the plant material to the future. For complex traits, genomic selection is also a promising method for predicting phenotypes. However, ecophysiological modelling is necessary to better anticipate the phenotypes in unexplored climatic conditions Genetic approaches applied on parameters of ecophysiological models rather than raw observed data are more than ever the basis for finding, or building, the ideal varieties of the future.