REDWINE project: use of Chlorella vulgaris to prevent biotic and abiotic stress in Palmela’s region, Portugal, vineyards

During recent years, carbonic maceration (CM) wines are increasingly demanded by consumers. The Spanish Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin (D.O.Ca. Rioja) is a winemaking area

Grapevine is one of the crops that may suffer more negative impacts
under climate change, due not only to changes in temperature but also due to water available. Some of the most direct effects of climate variability on grapevines are the changes in the onset and timing of phenology events and changes in the length of the growing season, which may have further effects on grape quality. The aim of this research was to analyze the changes in vine phenology of some red varieties (Tempranillo, Grenache and Carignan) cultivated in Rioja Oriental (Rioja DOCa), under different climate change scenarios.

Wine aroma descriptors are important tools for wine evaluation. The present well-known wine aroma descriptor system was created and based on Western culture, which makes difficult for Chinese consumers to recognize and learn wine. AIM: The aim of this study was to update the wine aroma descriptor system for Chinese.

Methods: Fifty-four wine aroma descriptors of ‘Le nez du vin’ was used as substitution candidates. Firstly, a survey on unfamiliar aromas was distributed to 150 untrained Chinese wine consumers. Twenty attributors, such as blackcurrent buds, quince, linden, were selected as the most 17 unfamiliar. Then, a descriptive analysis was performed by trained tasting panel to substitute the targeted twenty aromas perfume. Furthermore, reference standards were looked and new le nez du vin were made. Finally, a substitution analysis was performed to replace the unknown wine aroma to the Chinese local aromas.

The advance in maturation of wine grapes is an important climate change risk related effect that could affect warm regions like Portuguese Douro Wine Region. Indeed, the climate analysis over the past years registered a decrease in the precipitation, significant higher average temperatures, and a more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events, including heat waves. In these conditions the length from anthesis until maturation is shortened and the uncoupling of technical and phenolic maturity results in berries with higher sugar concentration (and lower acidity), but lower anthocyanins, tannins, and total phenolic concentration, which produce unbalanced wines.
In this work, an innovative strategy of crop forcing, based on forcing vine regrowth after a second pruning of green shoots, was tested, aimed at delaying ripening until the temperature becomes lower and, therefore, preventing acidity loss and increasing anthocyanin-to-sugar ratio. The experiments were conducted in 2019 and 2020 in a commercial vineyard of ‘Touriga Nacional’ located in the Douro Region. Crop forcing was conducted 15 (CF1) to 30 (CF2) days after fruit set. Vines pruned with conventional methods were used as control (CF0). Results confirmed that fruit ripening was shifted from the hot season (August/September), until a cooler period (October through early-November). At harvest, grapevine berries from CF1 and CF2 presented lower pH and higher acidity, than control, with no significant differences in colour intensity and phenolic levels composition. Sugar content was lower in CF2-treated vines in both seasons. However, in CF-treated vines the number and size of clusters were significantly lower (up to 88% reduction) than in control plants. A metabolomics analysis of mature berries from CF-treated vines and control is underway. Crop forcing was indeed effective in producing a more balance berry composition but severely reduced grapevine yield,

In Castilla-La Mancha as other winegrowing regions, vineyards suffer the effects of the global climate warming. Severe spring and summer droughts are increasingly frequent, which concur with the phenological stages most susceptible to water and temperature stress. Under these conditions, irrigation use is required in order to ensure the vineyard growing sustainability. However water resources are increasingly limited, for this reason is required to choose cultivars displaying high water use efficiency.