Impact of mycorrhizal inoculation of ‘Monastrell’ grapevines grafted onto different conventional vs. newly breed rootstocks 

Il lavoro di zonazione riveste un ruolo importante per capire le potenzialità e la vocazionalità di una specifica area viticola. La viticoltura dovrebbe essere vista in funzione dell’obiettivo enologico che si vuole realizzare e quindi particolare importanza riveste il risultato delle vinificazioni delle uve provenienti dai vigneti delle diverse aree della zona di produzione oggetto d’indagine. La zonazione dell’area a DOC Monti Lessini Durello ha preso in esame la varietà “Durella”, vitigno autoctono del territorio, che rappresenta la maggior parte della produzione vitivinicola della zona.

The bioprotection of musts or grapes is a strategy for limiting sulfiting during winemaking and more specifically at pre-fermentative step. The most preconized yeasts in bioprotection mainly belong to Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Torulaspora delbrueckii species. While previous studies have demonstrated that bioprotectant non-Saccharomyces strains were able to protect musts and wines against microbial spoilage as well as sulfites, they cannot protect must against oxidation which appears to be the main limit of this practice.

Volatile thiols are impact aroma compounds, well-known in the literature for imparting tropical fruit aromas such as passion fruit, guava, grapefruit, and citrus in white wines [1]. More recent evidence suggests that tropical fruit aromas are also caused by other aroma compounds besides thiols, such as fermentation esters, or the interaction between these volatile families. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of combining esters and/or thiols to determine their impact on the fruitiness aroma perception of white wines. Pinot gris wine was produced at the OSU research winery and was dearomatized using Lichrolut® EN. Combinations of fermentation volatile compounds were added to the wine, forming the aroma base. Treatment wines were composed of additions of different concentrations and combinations of thiols and/or esters. Samples were subjected to sensory analysis where forty-six white wine consumers evaluated the orthonasal aroma of the wines and participated in Check-All-That-Apply (CATA).

In the winemaking process, several compounds that remain in the grape skins and seeds after the fermentation stage are bioactive-compounds (substances with potential beneficial effects on health) that can be extracted in order to recovery valuable substances with a high commercial value for the cosmetic, food (nutraceuticals) and pharmaceutical industries. The skins contain significant amounts of bioactive substances such as tannins (16-27%) and other polyphenolic compounds (2-6.5%) in particular, catechins, anthocyanins, proanthocyanins, quercetin , ellagic acid and resveratrol.

Since the mid-1980s, several surveys have been carried out in La Rioja to search for populations of the sylvestris grapevine subspecies (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris Gmelin). The banks of the Ebro River and its tributaries (Alhama, Cidacos, Leza, Iregua, Najerilla, Oja and Tirón rivers), as well as the surrounding vegetation of their valleys have been covered. So far, all the populations found are alluvial, forming part of the riparian vegetation of the Najerilla (the first reported population in La Rioja [1]), Iregua, and the vicinity of Oja valleys.