INTEGRAPE guidelines and tools: an effort of COST Action CA17111

The universalization in wine production has been restricting the imprint of terroir in regional wines, resulting in loss of typicity. Microbes are the main driving force in wine production, conducting fermentation and originating a myriad of metabolites that underly wine aroma. Grape berries harbor an ecological niche composed of filamentous fungi, yeasts and bacteria, which are influenced by the ripening stage, cultivar and region. The research project GrapeMicrobiota gathers a consortium from University of Zaragoza, University of Minho and University of Tours and aims at the isolation of native yeast strains from berries of the wine region Douro, UNESCO World Heritage, towards the production of wines that stand out in the market for their authenticity and for reflecting their region of origin in their aroma.

The use of grapevine genetic diversity is a way to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on viticulture systems. Leaf epidermal flavonoids (including flavonols and anthocyanins) are involved in plant defense mechanisms against environmental stresses, like high temperatures or excessive solar radiation [1,2]. Among other factors, they modulate light absorption, which reduces photoinhibition processes in photosynthetic tissues [1]. Therefore, the identification of grapevine cultivars with an increased content on leaf epidermal flavonoids arises as a potential avenue to improve grapevine tolerance to some detrimental environmental stresses.

Chile is considered vulnerable to climate change; and these phenomena affect several mechanisms in the grape physiology and quality. The global temperature increase affects sugar contents, organic acids, and phenolic compounds in grapes, producing an imbalance maturity. In this sense, an alternative to reduce the impact is to perform pruning after vine budburst, known as “Late Pruning” (LP).

Grapevine cultivars are vegetatively propagated to preserve their varietal characteristics. However, spontaneous somatic variations that occur and are maintained during cycles of vegetative growth offer opportunities for the natural improvement of traditional grape cultivars. One advantageous trait for winegrowing is reduced bunch compactness, which decreases the susceptibility to pests and fungal diseases and favor an even berry ripening.

In the O Ribeiro Denomination of Origin, there is a winemaking tradition of growing vines under a high-density plantation framework (8,920 vines/ha) and maintaining its vegetative cycle under rainfed conditions.
Currently, viticulture is advancing to plantation frames in which the density is considered medium (5,555 vines/ha), thus allowing mechanized work to be carried out for vineyard management operations. Although, the application of irrigation applied proportionally to the needs of the vegetative cycle of the vine, is a factor that increasingly helps a good development of the vine compared to the summer period, with increasingly uncertain weather forecasts.