Staying hydrated – not easy when it’s hot!

France is the largest exporter of wine in the world. The export turnover is estimated at 8.7 billion euros in 2017 for 13 million hectoliters sold. This lucrative business pushes scammers to increase the value of some low-end wines by cheating on their appellations, quality or even their origins. These facts lead to losing 1.3 billion euros each year to the European Union’s wine and spirits companies.

Since the arrival of Phyloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifolia) in Europe at the end of the 19th century, grafting has become essential to cultivate Vitis vinifera. Today, grafting provides not only resistance to this aphid, but it used to adapt the cultivars according to the type of soil, environment, or grape production requirements by using a panel of rootstocks. As part of vineyard decline, it is often mentioned the importance of producing quality grafted grapevine to improve vineyard longevity, but, to our knowledge, no study has been able to demonstrate that grafting has a role in this context. However, some scion/rootstock combinations are considered as incompatible due to poor graft union formation and subsequently high plant mortality soon after grafting. In a context of climate change where the creation of new cultivars and rootstocks is at the centre of research, the ability of new cultivars to be grafted is therefore essential. The early identification of graft incompatibility could allow the selection of non-viable plants before planting and would have a beneficial impact on research and development in the nursery sector. For this reason, our studies have focused on the identification of metabolic and transcriptomic markers of poor grafting success during the first days/week after grafting; we have identified some correlations between some specialized metabolites, especially stilbenes, and grafting success, as well as an accumulation of some amino acids in the incompatible combination. The study of the metabolome and the transcriptome allowed us to understand and characterise the processes involved during graft union formation.

The objective this work has been study the possibility of partially or completely replacing sulphur in the winemaking of white wines through the use of the prefermentative saturation of musts with CO2.

The production of table grapes in Chile is of great importance, being one of the main established fruit crops with over 43,000 hectares distributed across a diverse climate range, from the southern limit of the Atacama desert to the mediterranean zone. Chile is also one of the leading exporters of table grapes. producers must confront the challenges posed by the climate crisis, such as decreased rainfall, increased heatwaves, and extreme temperature events during the growing season, mainly associated with desertification in northern Chile (Atacama and Coquimbo regions).

Perceived aroma plays an important role in wine quality, and it depends mainly on the volatile composition. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from grapes and those formed during winemaking are involved in the sensory complexity of wines. In aroma-neutral winegrape varieties, the winemaking process itself, and particularly alcoholic fermentation (AF), impacts strongly on the organoleptic characteristics of wines due to the formation of volatile alcohols, acids, and esters. In addition, phenolic compounds could contribute not only to the wine color but also to VOCs evolution during AF.