New varieties descendant from Monastrell with lower sugar and high phenolic content adapted to warm climates
Abstract
Given that climate change is a continuous process, it is necessary to constantly search for new strategies that help the viticulturist sector to mitigate its consequences. All adaptation strategies will have a greater or lesser effect that in turn will be marked by the times of action. As a long-term action, a genetic breeding program to obtain new varieties descendant from Monastrell has been developed in the Region of Murcia (more specifically, in the IMIDA Research Center) since 1997. In this program, new red varieties have been developed through directed crosses of the Monastrell variety with other varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Syrah.
In this research, the new hybrids “T4”, “T11”, “T75”, “T81” and “T82” were compared to cv. Monastrell in 2021 and 2022 seasons. These genotypes were selected for their markedly low sugar content and high phenolic concentration. Therefore their wines were characterized by its high quality and a lower alcohol content.
Results indicated that the wines from the five new hybrids doubled (or tripled) the values of IPT, anthocyanins and tannins of Monastrell wines. In addition, the results obtained show that these wines will have greater stability over time, thus extending their life extent, due to their high antioxidant capacities.
These preliminary (but promising) results indicate that these novel hybrids have some potential to solve the decoupling between phenolic and technological maturity. These novel hybrids could also generate low-alcohol but high-quality wines, as a solution to current consumer demands.
DOI:
Issue: ICGWS 2023
Type: Poster
Authors
1 EVE-IMIDA (Viticulture and Oenology Team). Murcian Institute for Agrarian and Environmental Research and Development. La Alberca 30150, Murcia-Spain
2 Instituto de Ciencias de la Vid y del Vino (CSIC, Gobierno de La Rioja, Universidad de La Rioja). Carretera de Burgos, Km.6. 26007 Logroño, Spain