«Promitheus» the new greek red wine grape arromatic variety

Soil is a reservoir of microorganisms playing important roles in biogeochemical cycles and interacting with plants whether in the rhizosphere or in the root endosphere. Through rhizodeposition, plants regulate their associated microbiome composition depending on the environment and plant factors, including genotypes. Since the phylloxera crisis, Vitis vinifera cultivars are mainly grafted onto American Vitis hybrids. Rootstocks play a pivotal role in the grapevine development, as the interface between the scion and the soil.

Grapevine rootstocks have traditionally been chosen in order to manage scion vigour, soil pests and soil conditions. Riparia Gloire de Montpellier (RGM) has been in use since the turn of the 19th century, over 100 years and still a remarkably stable source of phylloxera (Daktulosphaeria vitifoliae Fitch) resistance. The original source material was probably collected near the Missouri/Mississippi river confluence, a mid-continental but more southerly location in the United States. It has been hypothesized that more northerly selections of V. riparia Michx might improve both fall acclimation rate and depth of the scion, thus mitigating late fall frost and midwinter freeze damage.

Evidence for a specific effect of soil mineral composition on wine character is largely anecdotal. However, soil potassium supply to the vine must be properly balanced between deficiency and excess for good fruit quality.

Among nitrogen compounds included in white wines, the peptide fraction is certainly the least studied, however this fraction is quantitatively the most important (Feuillat, 1974). Existing studies concern the fraction below 1 kDa and only for white and sparkling wines (Bartolomé et al, 1997, Desportes et al 2000). In this report, we have developed methods to isolate peptides from reference white wines. Then, we have applied this methodology with bitter wine to answer a research question: is there a relation between peptides and the bitterness of white wine as for some cheese for example (Furtado, 1984)?

The mapping of spatial variability in vineyards offers the potential to implement zonal management strategies with the aim to optimize economic benefits and increase sustainability by managing natural resources, such as water used for irrigation, more optimally. This study characterized the (natural) variability in plant water status in a commercial Cabernet Sauvignon block, using remote sensing techniques, and identified the impact of this variability on the yield, and juice and wine composition. From the field data collected over two growing seasons, we demonstrated that remote sensing techniques are a practical and powerful tool for mapping spatial variability within vineyard blocks.