Decline of rootstock-mediated physiological responses in Tempranillo grapevines by prolonged extreme conditions

Mandilaria, a red grape variety indigenous to the Aegean islands, is well known for its robust tannins and pronounced astringency, which can challenge the palatability and marketability of its wines. The aim of this study was the reduction of astringency in wines made exclusively from mandilaria grapes through dehydrations practices and targeted winery applications.

Management of plant-parasitic nematodes is typically focused on preplant fumigation, especially in a vineyard replant scenario. While the data are clear that this practice reduces nematodes immediately after application, which is useful in annually-cropped systems, does it have staying power in perennial cropping systems? The northern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla reduces the overall lifespan and productivity of vineyards, but it does so over a long time period (slow, chronic decline). In two different commercial own-rooted V. vinifera vineyards, both undergoing vineyard replanting, we explored whether preplant fumigation reduced M. hapla densities in soils immediately after application. At one of these locations, we have explored the long-term effect of fumigation by monitoring the site for seven years post fumigation.

Among viticultural practices, Herbicide application and tillage are known to be some of the main threat for the soil biodiversity.

Non-saccharomyces yeasts play a crucial role in fermentation, producing a variety of secondary metabolites and enzymes that contribute to aromatic and sensory complexity compared to saccharomyces yeasts. It is crucial to understand and control the dynamics of non-saccharomyces yeasts to produce distinctive and high-quality fermented beverages.

The crunchy texture of table grapes is one of the key quality parameters during production. This varies from cultivar to cultivar, stage of harvest and vineyard performance. Cell wall properties are key drivers of berry quality (e.g., pericarp firmness and intactness) at harvest and beyond. Common practise amongst producers is to continuously monitor firmness by evaluating pericarp appearance of cross-sectioned berries prior to harvest. These qualitative methods can be quite arbitrary and imprecise in their execution, but more quantitative, yet simple and high-throughput methods to evaluate these cell wall polymers are not yet readily available.