Response of red grape varieties irrigated during the summer to water availability at the end of winter in four Spanish wine-growing regions: berry phenolic composition

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.

Addressing modifiable risk factors is the most promising strategy to prevent/delay Alzheimer Disease (AD)[1]. The aim of the study was to establish the connections between dietetic habits, wine consumption and AD. Thus, 98 volunteers were recruited: 50 diagnosed as AD and 48 healthy/controls. The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used for dietary patterns assessment and, based on these data, the Mind Diet Score was calculated. (Poly)phenol metabolites (especially derived from wine consumption) were analyzed by UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS in 24-h urine samples to confirm dietary (poly)phenol consumption.

The ongoing climate change implies an increasing mean air temperature, which is signified by weather extremes or sudden changes between drought and local heavy rainfalls. These changing conditions are especially challenging for the established grapevine varieties growing under cool climate conditions due to an increased risk for fungal diseases like downy mildew (DM) and Botrytis bunch rot (BBR) as well as for grape sunburn. To meet that demand, the scope of most grapevine breeding programs is the selection of mildew fungus-resistant and climatic adapted grapevines with balanced, healthy yield and outstanding wine quality.

The fortress of the Herodium, built towards the end of the first century BCE/ante Cristo, on the orders of Herod the Great, Roman client king of Judea, attests the expansion of Roman influence in the eastern Mediterranean. During archaeological excavations of the Herodium in 2017[1], a winery was discovered on the ground floor of the palace, with an assortment of clay vessels in situ, including large dolia – clay fermentation vessels each capable of fermenting up to 300-400 L of wine. Thanks to the recent progresses in the field of paleogenomics[2], we could analyse the organic material consistent with grape pomace at the bottom of these vessels, by extracting and sequencing the DNA using shotgun metagenomics and targeted capture, aiming for enrichment of DNA from fermentation associated microbes.

Volatile phenols from wildfire smoke are absorbed by wine grapes, resulting in undesirable smoky and ashy sensory attributes in the affected wine.[1] Unfortunately the severity of wildfires is increasing, particularly when grapes are ripening on the vine. The unwanted flavors of the wine prompted a need for solutions to prevent the uptake of smoke compounds into wine grapes. Films using cellulose nanofibers as the coating forming matrix were developed as an innovative means to prevent smoke phenols from entering Pinot noir grapes. Different film formulations were tested by incorporating low methoxy pectin or chitosan.