The sensitivity to ABA affects the cross-talk between scion/rootstock in tolerant grapevines to drought stress

Rio grande do sul is the main grape producing state in Brazil, with the largest wine-growing area, responsible by 90% of the national production of wines and grape juices. Serra Gaúcha is the main vitivinicultural region, where around 15% of the area is destined to produce wines from vitis vinifera L. grapes. This region presents high rainfall during the grape maturation cycle, a factor that leads to great risk of attacks by fungal pathogens. the use of resistant varieties can reduce the cost and quantity of spraying, improving wine quality, focusing on a sustainable vitiviniculture.

Various molecular compounds are responsible for the complex mixture of fragrances that give wine its aroma. In particular, the ‘cooked fruit’ aroma found in red wines from hot and/or dry vintages or from the vinification of late harvested grapes has been intensively investigated in recent years. Lactones and especially γ-nonalactone were found to be responsible for the ‘cooked fruit’

Catechins, a subclass of flavonoids widely found in plants and plant-based foods and beverages such as wine and tea, not only exhibit significant antioxidant properties [1], as extensively documented in the literature, but can also inhibit amyloid protein aggregation [2], a key process implicated in the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s.

Effective control with fungicides is essential to protect grapevine from downy mildew, a devastating disease caused by the oomycete Plasmopara viticola. Managing this disease faces challenges in maintaining fungicide efficacy as the number of modes of action decreases and the risk of fungicide resistance increases. Long-term measures should address strains resistant to multiple modes of action, that can be selected by the repeated use of single-site fungicides. For these reasons, a precision management of the disease, that considers the selection of the best fungicide schedule according to the sensitivity profile of the pathogen population, is needed.

“Pinking” is a term used to define an abnormal pink coloration assumed by white wines in certain cases. Despite the are many hypotheses about the causes of this phenomenon, pinking still represents an issue for the wine industry. In the absence of reliable preventive strategies, wineries often rely on treatments such as charcoal fining, which is also negatively impacting wine aroma. This study aims at evaluating the potential of different fining agents based on animal or vegetal proteins to prevent wine pinking when applied at the level of must clarification. The work was carried out on Lugana wines, which is well-recognised as sensible to pinking problems. METHODS: Two experimental Lugana musts were obtained by applying a standard winemaking protocol and were then clarified with different commercial preparations based on vegetal proteins or casein, alone or in combination with PVPP. A control only using pectolytic enzyme was also prepared. Finings were carried out at 4°C for 16h, and the clear must (200 NTU) was then fermented in controlled conditions.