Effects of early leaf removal on grape quality of Albariño vines subjected to different water regimes

Limited knowledge has been acquired on grapevine roots and rhizosphere processes because of harder access when compared to aerial parts. There is need for new methods to study root behavior in undisturbed field conditions, and relate these effects on canopy and yield. The aim of this multidisciplinary study was to image and quantify spatial-temporal differences in soil-water uptake by genetically different rootstocks and to assess the response of the canopy during drought and rewetting.

Maintaining stable yields and quality over time is a major challenge for the wine industry. Within the context of climate change, the choice of the rootstock is an important lever for adapting to current and future climatic conditions. Within a vineyard, the choice of the rootstock depends on the environmental conditions, the scion variety and the objectives of production. Many experimental data on the performances of rootstock already exist and can guide our decision-making.

Planting vineyards in cooler climates has been used over recent years as
a strategy to counter the climatic shifts caused by climate change. A move towards higher altitudes in hilly and mountainous wine regions may provide a solution to deleterious effects that increased ambient temperatures have on wine quality. Until now, the influences of higher altitudes and their climates, as well as their effect on vine growing cycles, still holds a lot of scientific uncertainty. The transnational EU-funded project REBECKA (Interreg V-A IT-AT: ITAT1002, duration: 2017-2019) has the objective to develop a regional valuation method to rate the suitability for viticulture in South Tyrol (Italy) and Carinthia (Austria). Preliminary surveys were performed regarding the effects of altitude on ripening performance of the cultivar Pinot Noir.

On the market there are several wine grapes which are tolerant to the main fungal diseases. These varieties, commonly defined “resistant”, were developed in the grapevine breeding programs carried out mainly in Germany, France, Hungary and Italy. Some of these cultivars have been included in the national catalogues of wine grape varieties and have sometimes been allowed for specific kinds of wine. The VEVIR project, aimed at the enological evaluation of resistant vines, involves 33 cultivars achieved at the State Institute for Viticulture Freiburg in Germany, the Research Institute of Viticulture and Enology Pecs in Hungary and the Fondazione Edmund Mach S. Michele all’Adige (FEM) in Italy.

Wine quality traits are usually given by parameters such as aroma profile, total acidity, alcohol content, colour and phenolic content, among others