Quantifying water use diversity across grapevine rootstock-scion combinations

Vineyards from mild temperature, high humidity locations receive often treatments with fungicides to prevent damages produced by fungi responsible for mildium, oidium and botrytis infections. In addition, insecticides are also applied to vineyards to fight again pests, which affect directly, or indirectly (as vectors of different diseases), their productivity. A fraction of the above compounds reaches the soil of vineyards, either during application, or when released from the canopy of vines due to rain-wash-off. Thereafter, depending on soil conditions (pH, organic matter) and environmental variables (regimen of rain, slope of vineyards), they might persist in this compartment, be degraded and/or transferred to water masses, modifying the biodiversity of soils and/or affecting the quality of water reservoirs.

Chile is considered vulnerable to climate change; and these phenomena affect several mechanisms in the grape physiology and quality. The global temperature increase affects sugar contents, organic acids, and phenolic compounds in grapes, producing an imbalance maturity. In this sense, an alternative to reduce the impact is to perform pruning after vine budburst, known as “Late Pruning” (LP).

The wooden barrel is a key factor in enology, since wine chemical composition and sensory properties changes significantly in contact with the barrel[1]. Today’s highly competitive market constantly demands new differentiated products and wineries search innovations continuously.
Wood selection is crucial: barrels stability to keep constant their contribution and the result on products, and additional and differentiated wood contributions to impact their new products. Oak wood selection has traditionally been carried out using parameters such as specie, location and grain, however, it goes one step further nowadays. Large cooperage work with non-destructive techniques that allow classifying oak wood quickly and easily according to their organoleptic contribution[2].

One of the main aspects of Climate Change is the increase of temperatures during summer and grape maturity period. Physiological processes are influenced by these high temperatures and result in grapes with higher sugar concentration, less acidity and less anthocyanin content among other quality changes. One strategy to deal with the climate change effects is the implementation of late winter pruning to alter the effect of high temperatures during key periods by delays in maturity time.

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.