Nutrient absorption in vines (Vitis vinifera L., cv. Tempranillo blanco) under two water management approaches in a semiarid region of the north of Spain

Establish relationships between taste and mouthfeel properties of grapes and tannin-related chemical parameters. Tempranillo Tinto and Garnacha Tinta grapes were harvested from distinct blocks in different dates; each sample collection date was separated by one week. Grapes were destemmed and macerated in 15% of ethanol for one week. The polyphenolic fraction (PF) of samples was submitted to solid phase extraction on C18 cartridges and recovered with ethanol. PFs were reconstituted in wine model and their taste and mouthfeel properties were characterised by rate-K-attributes methodology. In parallel, concentration (TC) and activity (TAc) of tannins as well as the concentration of tannins linked to anthocyanins (T-A) were determined using HPLC-UV–VIS.

Bois noir is the most widespread phytoplasma grapevine disease in Europe. It is associated with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’. In symptomatic grapevines cv. ‘Zweigelt’ infected with ‘Ca. P. solani’ compared with uninfected grapevines, metabolic pathways associated with phosphorylated sugar production were induced both at the transcriptional level and at the level of activity of the corresponding enzymes (Dermastia et al., 2021, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 22: 3531). In particular, the expression of gene coding for phosphoglucoisomerase was upregulated, resulting in increased phosphoglucoisomerase enzyme activity.

The global wine market is polarising over brands versus origin. Provenance is emerging as a marketing megatrend in many fast moving consumer goods. Origin has always been important in wine but does that mean consumers understand, or care about terroir?

In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for non-alcoholic wine with an ethanol content of less than 0.5% v/v. The dealcoholization process can take place by various methods, such as vacuum distillation or membrane technologies like osmotic distillation. Compared to distillation, membrane systems often require multiple passes or a combination of multiple separation methods. Complete or almost complete removal of ethanol significantly changes the sensory characteristics of wine.

The combination of cover crops with regulated deficit irrigation has been lately shown to be a good method to improve harvest quality in irrigated vineyards of Southern Europe with semiarid climate, as an alternative to the conventional management, that consists on mechanical tillage and irrigation from fruitset to veraison and from then on reduced, or even ended.