New oenological criteria for selecting strains of Lachancea thermotolerans for wine technology

In temperate climates, such as in the North of Spain, the use of irrigation in the vineyard has not been required, due to the usual rainfall from June to August. In some large vineyards, irrigation management has been carried out, based on occasional support irrigation, or for the application of nutrients (fertigation). Currently it is necessary to implement decision support models to manage irrigation water in real time and avoid misuse of a scarce resource. Moreover, quality standards must be achieved, as in the previous rainfed viticulture.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) exhibits a high level of genetic and phenotypic diversity among the approximately 6000 cultivars recorded. This perennial crop is highly vulnerable to numerous fungal diseases, including esca, which is a complex vascular pathology that poses a significant threat to the wine sector, as there is currently no cost-efficient curative method[1]. In this context, an effective approach to mitigate the impact of such diseases is by leveraging the crop’s genetic diversity. Indeed, susceptibility to esca disease appears to vary between cultivars, under artificial or natural infection. However, the mechanisms and varietal characteristics underlying cultivar susceptibility to esca are still unknown.

Every year, viticulture is facing several outbreaks caused by established diseases, such as downy mildew and grey mould, which possess different life cycles and modes of infection. To cope with these different aggressors, grapevine must recognize them and arm itself with an arsenal of defense strategies.
The regulation of secondary metabolites is one of the first reactions of plants upon pathogen challenge. Their rapid biosynthesis can highly contribute to strengthen the defense mechanisms allowing the plant to adapt, defend and survive.

In the Bordeaux vineyards, press wine represents approximately 15% of the total volume of wine produced[1]. Valuing this large volume of wine is necessary from an economic point of view, but also because of their organoleptic contribution to the blend, and their contribution to the construction of wines for laying down. Therefore, this study was developed considering the lack of recent scientific knowledge on the composition of red press wines. The aim of this study is to establish an initial assessment of their chemical composition including aromatic compounds and a phenolic part.

The recovery of bioactive compounds from grape and wine by-products is currently an important objective for revaluation and sustainability. Grape pomace is one of the main by-products and is a rich source of some bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the polysaccharide (PS) composition of extracts obtained from pomaces of different white and red grape varieties of Castilla y León. Grape pomaces were obtained after the pressing in the winemaking process.