Characterization of berry softening and sugar accumulation dynamics in a slow-ripening genotype and its response to abscisic acid treatments

Phenolic compounds are released from the wood into the wine spirit (WS) during the ageing process, and are of utmost importance to the colour, flavour, taste and the overall quality acquired by this spirit drink.1 Their concentrations in the WS and the related effects mainly depend on the kind of wood (oaks vs chestnut), toasting level and ageing technology (traditional using wooden barrels vs alternative).1,2,3

The Armenian highlands are located on the northern border of western asia and stretch up to the caucasus from the north. Throughout human history, country has played an important role in connecting the civilizations of europe and the near east. The recent large-scale study about the dual domestication origin and evolution of grapes approved that in the Armenian highlands human and grapevine stories are interlaced through centuries and roots of grapevine domestication are found deep in the pleistocene, ending 11.5 thousand years ago. Findings of this study confirmed that glacial episodes distinguish wild grapes into eastern and western ecotypes around 200-400 ka.

Global warming due to greenhouse gases (GHG) has become a serious worldwide concern.

Armenia, a small country in the South of the Caucasus, has been rediscovering its wine-growing past since the discovery in 2007 of archaeological wine-growing remains dating back around 8,000 years. They are among the oldest in the world. Despite a great diversity of grape varieties, Armenian winegrowers did not have sufficiently organized genetic collections to produce plants and satisfy the growing demand for planting.

Winemaking generates a significant amount of waste. Grape marc, the main solid residue, constitutes 20-25% of the pressed grapes and approximately 8-9 million tons are produced globally each year.