Optimizing disease management in the Rioja wine region: a study on Erisiphe necator and the Gubler-Thomas model

Climate change has brought several impacts that are becoming increasingly intense during the last few years and put at risk the quality of the berries or even the plant’s sustainability. Such extreme climatic events impact the composition of the wine while modulating its quality and the consumer preferences (Tempère et al., 2019). The three most important changes that take place in the must are: 1) decrease acidity, 2) increase of the concentration of sugar, hence increase of alcohol in the wine, and 3) modification
of the sensory balance and the development for example of cooked fruit aromas.

The yeast Metschnikowia pulcherrima is a microorganism of great biotechnological interest, both for improving winemaking processes and for other applications outside the wine supply chain.

The seasonal’s climatic conditions determine the composition of grapes at harvest as they affect the vine’s physiology and development. High temperatures during the grape ripening period cause a high accumulation of sugars and degradation of fruit acidity ,and alter the synthesis of polyphenols. Therefore, some vineyard management can be applied in order to modify grapevine impact on climate variability. One example is the pre-pruning at the beginning of grape ripening, which can delay the ripening period and modify the composition of the grapes at harvest. This work aims to evaluate the pre-pruning field technique on yield components and alcohol content in wines of Tannat and Merlot varieties.

Throughout centuries of anthropocentric breeding, plants have been selectively bred to enhance their quality traits and yield, often overlooking the importance of neglected attributes, like those involved in the interactions with beneficial microorganisms. This phenomenon led to an alteration in the distribution of photosynthetic products, shifting from defence mechanisms to growth, commonly described as ‘domestication syndrome’. Addressing the losses stemming from this condition is imperative just as unravelling the concealed communication between grapevines and beneficial microorganisms.

Ozalj- vivodina region is small vine growing area (only about 100 hectares of vineyards), but with significant number of old, ancient vineyards planted between 50 and 100 years ago. Trend of abandoning or replanting ancient vineyards takes place for the last 30 years. This trend results in grapevine germplasm erosion because traditional varieties are replaced with well known international varieties.Few known traditional varieties are dominantly present in ancient vineyards together with many others of unknown identity. Historical data about prevalence and characteristic of varieties on this area are very poor.