Effect of foliar application of urea and nano-urea on the cell wall of Monastrell grape skins

Controlling the development of the bacterial population during the winemaking process is essential for obtaining correct wines[1]. Carbonic Maceration (CM) wines are recognised as high-quality young wines. However, due to its particularities, CM winemaking implies a higher risk of bacterial growth: lower SO2 levels, enrichment of the must in nutrients, oxygen trapped between the clusters… Therefore, wines produced by CM have slightly higher volatile acidity values than those produced by the destemming/crushing method[2].

The effects of climate change in viticulture are currently a major concern, with heat waves and drought affecting yield, wine quality, and in extreme cases, even plant survival. Ancient grapevine varieties have high intravarietal genetic variability that so far has been explored successfully to improve yield and must quality. Currently, there is little information available on intravarietal variability regarding responses to stress. In the current work, the intravarietal genetic variability of several Portuguese varieties was studied for yield, must quality, and tolerance to abiotic stress, through indirect, rapid, and nondestructive measurements carried out in the field.

Bacterial antibiotic resistance is a major current health problem. Polyphenols have demonstrated antibacterial activity, and in this work we studied the effect of oenological polyphenols on the growth of intestinal multidrug-resistant strains of human and animal origin. Two Enterococcus faecium strains, resistant to vancomycin and other antibiotics, and four Escherichia coli strains, resistant to ampicillin and other antibiotics, were included in this study. All strains showed multidrug resistant phenotypes and genotypes to at least two antibiotic families.

Atmospheric CO2 levels have been rising continuously since the industrial revolution, affecting crop physiology, yield and quality of harvest products, and grapevine is no exception [1]. Most of previously reported studies used potted plants in controlled environments, and explored grapevine response to relatively high CO2 levels, 700 ppm or more. The vineyardFACE, established in Geisenheim in 2012, uses a free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) system to simulate a moderate (ambient +20%) increase in atmospheric CO2 in a vineyard planted with cvs. Cabernet-Sauvignon and Riesling grafted on rootstock 161-49 Couderc and SO4, respectively.

Sparkling wine (SW) production entails a two-steps process where grape must undergoes a primary fermentation to produce a base wine (BW) which is then refermented to become a SW. This process allows for the development of a new physicochemical profile characterized by the presence of foam and a different organoleptic profile.