Differences in metabolism among species and hybrids of the genus Saccharomyces during wine fermentation unveiled by multi-omic analysis 

The main phenological stages (budburst, flowering, veraison, and ripeness) and the fruit composition of 34 Spanish minority varieties were studied to determine their cultivation potential and help winegrowers adapt their production systems to climate change conditions. In total, 4 control cultivars, and 30 minority varieties from central Spain were studied during a period of 3 campaigns, in the ampelographic collection “El Encín”, in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. Agronomic and oenological characteristics such as yield, and total soluble solids concentration have been monitored.

Light is responsible for adverse reactions in wine including the formation of unpleasant flavors, loss of vitamins or photodegradation of anthocyanins. Among them, the riboflavin degradation leads to the formation of undesirable volatile compounds, known as light-struck taste. These photo-chemical reactions could be avoided by simply using opaque packaging. However, most rosé wines are kept in transparent bottles due to different commercial reasons. Some agri-food waste extracts have been studied for their photoprotective action which turn to be highly correlated with phenolic content [1].

Recently, there has been a shift toward sustainable wine production, according to EU policy (F2F and Green Deal), to reduce pesticide usage, improve workplace health and safety, and prevent the impacts of climate change. These trends have gained the interest of consumers and winemakers. The cultivation of disease resistant hybrid grape cultivars (DRHGC), known as ‘PIWI’ grapes can help with these objectives [1]. This study aimed to profile white and red wines produced from DRHGC in South Tyrol (Italy). Wines produced from DRHGCs were compared with conventional wines produced by the same wineries. The measured parameters were residual sugars, organic acids, alcohol content, pigments and other phenolics by LC-QqQ/MS, colorimetric indexes (CIELab); and volatile profiles (HS-SPME-GCxGC-ToF/MS [2]).

Botanist Andreas Raphael Wolny collected a grapevine herbarium from 1812-1824 in Sremski Karlovci (wine region of Vojvodina, Serbia), which represents local cultivated grapevine diversity before the introduction of grape phylloxera in the region. The herbarium comprises over 100 samples organized into two subcollections based on berry colour (red and white varieties), totaling 47 different grape varieties. The objective of this study was to investigate the historical varietal assortment of Balkan and Pannonian winegrowing areas with long viticulture traditions.

Bobal is the second most widely grown Spanish red grape variety (54,165 has), mainly cultivated in the Valencian Community and especially, in Utiel-Requena region (about 67% of 34,000 has). In this study, agronomic and enological parameters were determined in 98 biotypes selected during 2018 and 2019 in more than 50 vineyards over 50 years-old in the Utiel-Requena region. Moreover, a multi-criteria approach considering temperature and rainfall (Fig. 1A), among other parameters, was made to establish three different zones within the region (Fig. 1B), where in the future the selected biotypes will evaluated. In fact, in 2020, 4 replicates and 12 vines per biotype were planted in an experimental vineyard to preserve this important intra-cultivar diversity.