Vineyard management practices to reduce sugar content on ‘Monastrell’ grapes

Many works have been carried out to identify the key aroma volatile compounds of oak wood (e.g., whisky-lactone, furfural, maltol, eugenol, guaiacol, vanillin) using conventional gas chromatography coupled with olfactometry and mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS). Inspired by recent untargeted approaches in the field of food “omics”, this work aims to extend our knowledge on the impact of cooperage process on the volatile composition of oak wood using two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-ToFMS).

In recent years there has been a growing demand for alternative packaging designs in the food industry focused on diminishing the carbon footprint. Despite the environmental advantages of cans versus bottles, the traditional environment of wine has hindered the establishment of less contaminant containers. In this context, the objective of this study was to understand and generate knowledge about consumers´ perception of canned wines in comparison to bottled wines.

Drought is one of the main challenges for viticulture in the context of global change. The choice of rootstock could be leveraged for vineyard adaptation to drought as we can improve plant performance without modifying the scion variety. However, most of the existing rootstocks, selected over a century ago, have a narrow genetic background which could compromise their adaptive potential.

The wine spoilage caused by Brettanomyces bruxellensis is one of the global concerns for winemakers. Detecting the presence of B. bruxellensis using routine laboratory culture techniques becomes challenging when cells enter the viable but not culturable (VBNC) state. This study aims to investigate the impact of p-coumaric acid (a volatile phenol precursor) and micronutrients on B. bruxellensis’ culturability, viability, and volatile phenol production under sulfite stress. In red wine, exposure to a high sulfite dose (100.00 mg L-1 potassium metabisulfite) resulted in immediate cell death, followed by a recovery of culturability after two weeks.

Modern agriculture employs large amounts of plastics, such as mulching and greenhouse films, thermal covers, plant protection tubes and tying tape. The latter two types are very common in viticulture. Guard tubes are employed to protect young vines from mechanic and atmospheric damage, whilst polymeric tying tape has replaced natural-origin materials to hold the canopy of vines. Both materials are made on synthetic polymers, which include a range of additives to improve their environmental stability remaining in the environment of vineyards for years. During this time, they are exposed to the range of pesticides (fungicides, insecticides and in a lesser extend herbicides) applied to vines.