Genetic determinism of grapevine development stages as a tool for the adaptation to climate change

Nowadays the use of non-Saccharomyces as starters of alcoholic fermentation (AF) has increased because of the modulation of the organoleptic profile of wines

Ad una prima analisi l’interesse dimostrato dal settore produttivo nei confronti della zonazione vitivinicola è da ricondursi al fatto che dopo i primi approcci puramente accademici

Port is a fortified wine, produced from grapes grown in the demarcated Douro region. The fortification process consists in the addition of a grape spirit (77% v/v) to the fermenting juice for fermentation interruption, resulting in remaining residual sugars in the wine and increased alcohol content (19-22%). The approval of grape spirits follows the Appellation (D.O. Port wine) rules1 and it is currently carried out based on analytical control and on sensory evaluation done by the public Institute that upholds the control of the quality of Douro Appellation wines. However, the producers of Port wines would like to have more information about quality markers of grape spirits.

The synthetic herbicide glyphosate has been used extensively in viticulture over many decades to combat weeds. Despite this, the possible influence of residual glyphosate on both the alcoholic fermentation of grape juice and the subsequent metabolite profile of wines has not been investigated. In this study, Pinot noir juice supplemented with different concentrations of glyphosate (0 µg L-1, 10 µg L-1 and 1000 µg L-1) was fermented with commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains. Using a combination of analytical methods, 80 metabolites were quantified in the resulting wines.

The optimal climatic conditions of the region were proved in 1867, when a leaf-print of Vitis tokaiensis was found in a stone from miocen age (13 million years ago).