Does foliar fertilization with Seaweed improve the productivity and quality of ‘Merlot’ grape must?

Yeast cell wall components are valuable biotechnological tools with applications in oenology and beyond [1], [2].

Pinking describes the appearance of a salmon-red blush in white bottled wines produced exclusively from white grape varieties. It is understood as an undesirable chromatic phenomenon by both wine consumers and the industry. Nowadays, there are no treatments to fully reverse pinking once it occurs. Partial reversion has been shown after exposure of pinked wine to ultraviolet (UV) light.

The work shows the results of a year of experimentation (2020) in a Syrah variety vineyard in La Roda (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain). The trial approach was on a randomized block design with two factors: Irrigation (I) and Pruning (P).
Irrigation schedules were adjusted to apply amounts close to 1,500 m3/ha. With this provision, 2 different irrigation treatments were proposed: I1) Start of irrigation from pea-sized grape to post-harvest (providing at least 20 % of the total amount of irrigation water to be provided post-harvest); I2) Start of irrigation from pea-sized grape to harvest (usual irrigation practice in the study area). Pruning was proposed with two treatments, one at the end of January (P1), which is pruning on a conventional date; and P2) pruning carried out at the beginning of budding. In total, 4 repetitions were designed with 4 elementary plots, each one of them representing one of the proposed treatments (I1P1; I1P2; I2P1; I2P2). In total, 16 plots were worked on and each elementary plot consisted of 30 strains, distributed in 3 lines.
The productive response was evaluated with the yield results of the harvest harvested at 23 ºBrix. The qualitative response was measured in the musts through the indices of technological (acidity, pH and potassium) and phenolic maturity and aromatic compounds in free and glycosylated fractions. The treatments tested had, in general, an effect on the different variables analyzed.

Brettanomyces bruxellensis, commonly referred to as “Brett,” is one of the most notorious microorganisms implicated in wine spoilage. This yeast species has developed a noteworthy resistance to sulfur dioxide, a widely used preservative in winemaking, prompting the wine industry to seek new antimicrobial agents.

Dans une approche globale, nous proposons la définition suivante du zonage : “représentation cartographique associée à une sectorisation du territoire en zones unitaires homogènes à partir de facteurs discriminants établis sur la base d’indicateurs quantifiables et d’avis d’experts”. La première application de cette méthode a porté sur la caractérisation du terroir en liaison avec les aspects qualitatifs des vins. Il est également possible d’envisager d’appliquer cette démarche dans les stratégies environnementales et paysagères liées aux approches territoriales et aux pratiques viticoles. Cette méthode peut servir de base dans la mise en œuvre des outils financiers associés aux mesures environnementales (CTE, aides spécifiques).