From genes to vineyards: system biology and new breeding technologies for water stress tolerance in grapevines

Viral diseases are reported to cause several detrimental effects on grapevine. Among them, leafroll, due to single or mixed infection of GLRaV1 and GLRaV3, and rugose wood, associated to GVA, are considered the most widespread and dangerous.

AIM: Oak wood play traditionally a huge role in making fine red wines. During wine maturation, barrel yields some of its constituents to the wine and leads to the improvement of its quality, contributing to richness and complexity [1].

Quercetin (Q), a phenolic compound released from grape skins during red wine maceration, has been identified as a source of instability in bottled wines, particularly Sangiovese, due to crystallisation. This phenomenon represents an economic challenge for producers and affects wine clarity and consumer perception.

By using HPLC-ESI-MS, 1H, 13C and 2D NMR, new addition products between catechin, epicatechin, caftaric acid and 3SH were characterized. Caftaric acid formed more rapidly adducts with 3SH than catechin and epicatechin in the absence of other nucleophiles.

The chemical composition of wines depends on series of variables such as the type of grape, edaphoclimatic conditions, and viticulture and winemaking practices employed during production. Metallic elements play a significant role during winemaking (e.g. as catalysts of oxidation reactions) and have been previously employed for the classification of wines according to provenance. In this work, we focused on the analysis of metallic elements (K, Na, Ca, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Cr, Al, Pb, Cd, Hg, Se, Co, Sn and As) in 145 Chilean wine samples (102 reds and 43 white wines), of seven grape varieties, and five of the major wine producing regions in Chile.