Temperature-based phenology modelling for the grapevine 

The inherent variability of Nature poses challenges for researchers to draw clear conclusions from field experiments. Identifying and assessing adaptations to climate change requires agronomic field trials.

The last step in winemaking is packaging the wines for market placement, while preserving the quality attained during vinification. Since the 1980s, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) has been recognised as an incidental and random contaminant of cork, with its migration into wine thought to contribute to ‘cork taint’. This molecule is not a cork component and little is known about how it is formed on trees. Its formation from the chlorine used to wash the cork stoppers, long suspected, has been excluded by the abandonment of chlorine washing.

Typically, subjective, and visual methods are used by grape growers to assess harvest maturity. These methods may not accurately represent the maturity of an entire vineyard – especially if extensive and representative sampling was not used. New technologies have been investigated for improved harvest management decisions. Spectroscopy methods utilizing the near-infrared region of the light spectrum is one such technology investigated as an alternative to classic methods and particularly the application of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has recently gained attention in research. HIS is a spectroscopic technique that obtains hundreds of images at different wavelengths collecting spectral data for each pixel in the sample i.e., providing both spectral and spatial data.

Deciding to grow grapes in Oregon is complex issue due to our diverse geography, climate, and relatively short history of grape growing. For any potential grape grower, vineyard site selection is the single most important decision they will face.

Wine by-products valorisation by green chemistry methods: Impact of the extraction process on the structure, functionalities and activity of the extracted molecules