From soil to canopy, the diversity of adaptation strategies  to abiotic constraints in grapevine

Marselan wines have an unusual high proportion of seed derived tannins from grapes having high proportions of skins, which are rich in tannins. But the causes behind this characteristic have not yet been identified. In vintage 2023 wines were made at experimental scale (9 kg by experimental unit) from Arinarnoa, Marselan and Tannat Vitis vinifera grape cultivars by traditional maceration, and by techniques aimed to increase the wine content in skin derived tannin: addition of extraction enzymes, addition at vatting of grape-skin enological tannins, or by extended maceration, known to increase the seed derived tannin contents of wines.

In recent decades, the scarcity of water resources in agriculture in certain areas has been aggravated by climate change, which has caused an increase in temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, as well as an increase in the frequency of extreme phenomena such as droughts and heat waves. Although the vine is considered a drought-tolerant specie, it has to satisfy important water requirements to complete its cycle, which coincides with the hottest and driest months. Achieving sustainable viticulture in this scenario requires high levels of efficiency in the use of water, a scarce resource whose use is expected to be severely restricted in the near future. In this regard, the use of drought-tolerant varieties that are able to maintain grape yield and quality could be an effective strategy to face this change. During three consecutive seasons (2018-2020) the behavior in rainfed regime of 13 traditional red grapevine varieties of the Spain central region was studied. These varieties were cultivated in a collection at Centro de Investigación de la Vid y el Vino de Castilla-La Mancha (IVICAM-IRIAF) located in Tomelloso (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain). Yield components (yield, mean bunch and berry weight, pruning weight), physicochemical parameters of the musts (brix degree, total acidity, pH) and some physiological parameters related with water stress during ripening period (δ13C, δ18O) were analysed. The application of different statistical techniques to the results showed the existence of significant differences between varieties in their response to stressful conditions. A few varieties highlighted for their high ability to adapt to drought, being able to maintain high yields due to their efficiency in the use of water. In addition, it was possible quantify to what extent climate can be a determinant in the δ18O of musts under severe water stress conditions.

During the more than 190 years since the founding of the first ampelographic collection, the creation of a series of collections is attested on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, each operating in different historical periods and socio-economic conditions,

Phenolic composition is essential to wine quality (Cleary et al., 2015; Bindon et al., 2020; Niimi et al., 2020) and its assessment is a strong industrial need to quality management.

The use of new fungus disease-tolerant grapevine varieties is a long-term and promising solution to reduce chemical input in viticulture. However, little is known about the effects of water deficit (WD) on the thiol aromatic potential of new varieties coming up from breeding programs. Varietal thiols such as 3-sulfanylhexan-ol (3SH), 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4MSP) and their derivatives are powerful aromatic compounds present in wines coming from odorless precursors in grapes, and could contribute to the wine typicity of such varieties.