Advancing grapevine science through genomic research

Plant water stress affects grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berry composition and is variable in space due to variations in the physical environment at the growing site. Could we use water status maps as a sensitive tool to discriminate between harvest zones?

One of the main effects of global warming is an increase in the sugar concentration of grapes at harvest time, resulting in wines with a high alcohol content and an unbalanced structure. The fruit to leaf ratio is a key factor in determining the final sugar concentration, and training systems and management techniques can help to control this parameter.

Aim: The study aims to show how different pedo-climatic conditions (past, present, and future) in three Italian sites at different latitudes (from center to southern), affect the adaptation of two red grapevine cultivars: Aglianico and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In the Champagne vineyards, spring frosts are the cause of significant variations in the volume of the harvest which are very penalizing for the trade. This variability is reflected both in time (years without frost alternating with years with severe frosts) and in space. Certain sectors of the vineyard are in fact statistically more susceptible to frost than others, but each year no municipality can consider itself immune to this climatic accident. The objective of the study is precisely to analyze the spatial distribution of frost and to determine its main mechanisms, linked to the topography of the hillsides, their orientation but also to regional meteorological variables.

ln the current work, phenolic and cellular maturation curves were used to assess the degree of adaptation of the cultivar Cabernet sauvignon to the sites under esamination. Five wine­-producing zones with different pedoclimatic characteristics and latitudes were considered (Marche, Toscana, Emilia, Friuli and Slovenia).