Long-lasting flavour perception of wines treated with oenological additives considering the individual PROP taste-phenotype

‘Tempranillo Tinto’ is a black-berried Iberian cultivar that originated from a hybridization between cvs. ‘Benedicto’ and ‘Albillo Mayor’ [1]. Today, it is the third most widely grown wine grape cultivar worldwide with more than 200,000 hectares of vineyards mostly distributed along the Iberian Peninsula, where it is also known as ‘Cencibel’, ‘Tinta de Toro’, ‘Tinta Roriz’, and ‘Aragonez’, among other synonyms. Here, we quantified the intra-varietal genomic diversity in this cultivar through the study of 35 clones or ancient vines from seven different Iberian wine-making regions. A comparative analysis after Illumina whole-genome sequencing revealed the presence of 1,120 clonal single nucleotide variants (SNVs).

Grapevines are grown mainly as grafts worldwide, but the rootstocks most commonly used were selected between the late 19th and early 20th centuries and are based on reduced genetic diversity[1]. In the context of climate change, it is indeed urgent to diversify the range of rootstocks with genotypes much more adapted to drier environments, than the existing ones[2]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of new genetic resources for grapevine rootstock breeding programs. For this purpose, 12 American and Asian wild Vitis species (3 to 5 accessions per species = 50 accessions) were evaluated for their rooting ability and drought response.

Grapevine cultivars are vegetatively propagated to preserve their varietal characteristics. However, spontaneous somatic variations that occur and are maintained during cycles of vegetative growth offer opportunities for the natural improvement of traditional grape cultivars. One advantageous trait for winegrowing is reduced bunch compactness, which decreases the susceptibility to pests and fungal diseases and favor an even berry ripening.

One of the most important effects of climate change in wine-growing areas is the advance of phenological stages, especially concerning early berry ripening. In the hottest seasons, this results in a lack of synchrony between sugar and phenolic ripeness. In order to cope with this fact, a general effort is being made by researchers and growers aiming at delaying ripening through different strategies. One of the proposed approaches is the application of elicitors. This study aims to assess the effect at the transcriptomic level of application of three elicitors (Vitalfit, Fruitel, and Protone) in Tempranillo.

Wine is one of the most representative components of Mediterranean diet. Moderate wine intake together with food, has been positively correlated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases. This beneficial effect seems to be ascribed to elevated polyphenolic content of wine [1]. Traditional approaches for the identification of wine biomarkers consumption include targeted metabolomics that focuses on the quantification of well-defined metabolites, losing a valuable information about a massive number of compounds. On the other hand, untargeted metabolomics can disclose a large quantity of signals corresponding to potential biomarkers in a single analysis with high sensitivity and resolution.