Towards a better understanding of the root system diversity and plasticityin young grafted vines using 2D imaging and 3D modelling tools

The vineyard is capable of fixing carbon in its permanent structure from atmospheric carbon dioxide, through the process of gas exchange and the performance of photosynthesis. The photosynthetic capacity of the vineyard depends on the water resources that the plant may have at its disposal, so the amount of dry matter, derived from the processed photosynthates, that it can store will depend on the water regime of the crop, both in the annually renewable organs as in permanent parts.

Interest and willing-ness to buy alcohol-free wines by customers is increasing for several years [1]. Due to the rising relevance of dealcoholised wines it is the objective of this study to contribute to a better understanding of the flavor variation among dealcoholised wines and to explore enological measures, how to improve final quality.
First a range of commercial, alcoholfree white wines were analysed by the holistic sensory method projective mapping, including a question for hedonic acceptance. Based on the combination of a non-target-HS-SPME-GC/MS analysis with sensory analysis we obtained a clustering of the wines into three groups.

Bacterial malolactic fermentation (MLF) has a considerable impact on wine quality. The yeast strain used for primary fermentation can consistently stimulate (MLF+ phenotype) or inhibit (MLF- phenotype) malolactic bacteria and the MLF process as a function of numerous winemaking practices, but the molecular evidence behind still remains a mystery. In this study, such evidence was elucidated by the direct comparison of extracellular metabolic profiles of MLF+ and MLF- yeast phenotypes. Untargeted metabolomics combining ultrahigh-resolution FT-ICR-MS analysis, powerful machine learning methods and a comprehensive wine metabolite database, discovered around 800 putative biomarkers and 2500 unknown masses involved in phenotypic distinction.

AIM: Cork, the bark of Quercus suber L. is a natural, renewable, sustainable, and biodegradable raw material, representing an abundant and cheap source of raw material. Portugal is the major cork producer (185,000 tons) processing about three-quarters of the world’s cork, generating up to 25 wt % of cork dust as a by-product.

Right after serving a sparkling wine into a glass, thousands of rising and bursting bubbles convey gas-phase CO2 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace above the champagne surface, thus progressively modifying the gaseous chemical space perceived by the consumer [1].