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

Advanced knowledge on grapevine row orientation is required to improve establishment, management and outcomes of vineyards on terroirs with different environmental conditions (climate, soil, topography) and in view of a future change to more extreme climatic conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the combined effect of row orientation, plant water status and ripeness level on the physiological and viticultural reaction of Shiraz/101-14 Mgt.

Grapevine is a plant that holds significant socioeconomic importance due to its production of grapes for fresh consumption, wines, and juices. However, climate changes and susceptibility to diseases pose a threat to the quality and yield of these products. The breeding of new genotypes that are resistant/tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses is essential to overcome the impact of climate changes. In this regard, Marker-assisted selection (MAS), which uses DNA markers, is a crucial tool in breeding programs. The efficiency and economy of this method depend on finding rapid DNA isolation methods.

The region with Origin Indication Vale dos Vinhedos (IPVV) is located in the cities of Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi and Monte Belo do Sul. It was established in November 2002, through an act of Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial, according to Resolução INPI Nº. 75, of 2000, and Law Nº. 9.279 of 1996. The changes on the grape growing and wine making in the last 15 years, with the expansion of grapevines Vitis viníferas cultivation, the installation of several modern family wine companies, making wine with competitive quality, among other aspects, have enabled the implementation of concepts of Geographical Indications.

Water and heat stress impose new challenges to irrigation management in the Mediterranean areas. This reality has a major impact on the vineyard ecosystem, particularly on the scarce water resources of the Alentejo region (South Portugal). To mitigate this problem, irrigation management should focus on optimizing yield and fruit quality per volume of water applied. This work aims to discuss the use of predawn leaf water potential and soil water status relationships as a decision tool for irrigation management taking as basis data from a field trial where two deficit irrigation strategies were compared.

A misconception lingers in the minds of some wine consumers that Champagne wines don’t age. It’s largely a myth, certainly as far as the best cuvees are concerned. Actually, during the so-called autolysis period of time (in the closed bottle, after the “prise de mousse”), complex chemical reactions take place when the wine remains in contact with the dead yeast cells, which progressively bring complex and very much sought-after aromas to champagne. Nevertheless, despite their remarkable impermeability to liquid and air, caps or natural cork stoppers used to cork the bottles are not 100% hermetic with regard to gas transfers. Gas species therefore very slowly diffuse through the cap or cork stopper, along their respective inverse partial pressure. After the “prise de mousse”, because the partial pressure of CO2 in the bottleneck reaches up to 6 bars (at 12 °C), gaseous CO2 progressively diffuse from the bottle to the ambient air
(where the partial pressure of gaseous CO2 is only of order of 0,0004 bar).