Impact of the ‘Pinot’-family on early ripening in cool climate viticulture varieties

Italy, like all the major vine-growing and wine-producing countries, has experienced a decline in wine export volumes in recent years.

Grape composition is of high interest for producing quality wines. For that, grape analyses are necessary, and they still require sample preparation, whether with classical analyses or with NIR analyses.

Sun exposure is needed for balanced grape ripening and sugar accumulation but is also one of the main drivers for a premature Riesling ageing

The main challenge of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) research is to isolate the factors that come with RDI, the direct effect of plant water status from the indirect ones like increased radiation and temperature changes on the cluster zone. This study aims to isolate the effects of vine water status from the effects of increased radiation on the phenolic composition of grapes subjected to RDI.
A three-year study on an RDI experiment where radiation was controlled was implemented in a commercial vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile. Four RDI treatments based on partial evapotranspiration (ET) irrigation were established. Irrigation treatments were 100% ET, 70% ET, 50-100% ET (50% ET before veraison and 100% ET afterward), and 35-100% ET (35% ET before veraison and 100% ET afterward).

In interaction with climate and genetic or human factors, the soil is a major component of the viticulture terroir. The mineral composition of the soil influences vine performance and wine sensory attributes. Among the elements that vines take from the soil, nitrogen is the one that has the strongest impact on vine physiology, vigor and grape composition. In addition to its major effect on primary metabolites in berries, nitrogen plays also a decisive role in the secondary metabolism, especially in the production of key compounds for berries quality, like volatile thiols, methoxypyrazines and glutathione (GSH).