Phenological stage dependency of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache response to water and nutrient limitation 

One on three cases of cancer is associated with lifestyle and nutritional patterns, and the excessive intake of alcoholic beverages is a well established risk factor. Moderate drinking has been associated with reduced or increased risk of various types of cancer, but the clinical relevance of the risk rates has not been evaluated in ad hoc prospective investigations.

In the pursuit of increasing sustainability, climate change resiliency and independence of synthetic pesticides in agriculture, the interest of consumers and producers in organic and biodynamic farming is steadily increasing. This is in particular the case for the vitivinicultural industry in Europe, where more and more producers are converting from organic to biodynamic farming. However, clear scientific evidence showing that biodynamic farming improves vine physiology, vine stress resilience, berry or wine quality, or is more sustainable for the environment is still lacking although this issue has been addressed by several research teams worldwide.

The sulphur dioxide (SO2) is the most widely used additive in the wine industry because of its preservative action. However, in recent years the number of wineries that produce wines without SO2 has increased significantly because its allergenic character.

Aims: Wine typicity is defined as a reflection of varietal origins, cultures and traditions of the wine. These aspects are many times also extremely important when considering a wines quality. However, as climate change occurs the typicity of wines may also change. With the long history of winemaking it is possible to define a wines typicity and how it has changed as climate alters. 

Two main challenges of a changing climate are the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature in relation to physiological responses and yield performance of plants. To investigate responses of field grown grapevines under elevated CO2 (+20 %) conditions a FACE (Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment) facility for Vitis vinifera cvs. Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon was established at Geisenheim (50°N, 8°E, Germany) in 2012.