Quantifying water use diversity across grapevine rootstock-scion combinations

Botrytis cinerea has more than 1200 host plants and is one of the most important plant pathogens in viticulture. Under certain environmental conditions, it can lead to the development of a noble rot, which results in a specific metabolic profile, altering physical texture and chemical composition. The other microbes involved in this process and their functional genes are poorly characterised. We have generated metatranscriptomic [1,2] and DNA metabarcoding data from three months of the Furmint grape variety, representing the four phases of noble rot, from healthy berries to completely dried berries.

Water availability is the most limiting factor for vineyard productivity under Mediterranean conditions. Due to the effects caused by the current climate change, wine-growing regions may face serious soil moisture conservation problems, due to the lower water retention capacity of the soil and higher soil irradiation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of soil recharge irrigation in pre-sprouting and summer irrigation every week (30 % ETo) from the pea size state until the end of ripening (RP) compared to exclusively summer irrigation every week (R) in the same way that RP, on berry phenolic composition at harvest.

Wine perception is a multisensory experience that makes use of the sight, smell, and taste senses. When wine is sensorially assessed, the stimulus received generates multiple signals that tasters convert into organoleptic descriptors. Colour is commonly the first attribute evaluated during wine tasting. Moreover, the colour properties provide the taster with a priori information of the wine’s aroma. This preconceived perception is later confirmed or denied during the aroma evaluation.

Remote sensing technology captures spectral data beyond the visible range, making it useful for monitoring plant stress. Vis-NIR (Visible-Near Infrared) spectroscopy (400-1000 nm) is commonly used to indirectly assess plant status during drought. One example is the widespread use of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) that is strongly linked to green biomass. However, a knowledge gap exists regarding the applicability of this method to all the drought conditions and if it is a direct correlation to the water status of the plant.

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).