Correlation between agronomic performance and resistance gene in PIWi varieties in the field

The region with Origin Indication Vale dos Vinhedos (IPVV) is located in the cities of Bento Gonçalves, Garibaldi and Monte Belo do Sul. It was established in November 2002, through an act of Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial, according to Resolução INPI Nº. 75, of 2000, and Law Nº. 9.279 of 1996. The changes on the grape growing and wine making in the last 15 years, with the expansion of grapevines Vitis viníferas cultivation, the installation of several modern family wine companies, making wine with competitive quality, among other aspects, have enabled the implementation of concepts of Geographical Indications.

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.

The current levels of greenhouse gas emissions are expecting to provoke a change on the environmental conditions which, among others, will include a rise of global mean surface temperature and an increment of atmospheric CO2 levels (IPCC, 2014), known as climate change. The response of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), one of the most important crops in Europe, from both a cultural and economic point of view, is not completely understood yet and the studies considering the interaction between factors are scarce. Besides, the potential variety of responses among somatic variants needs to be studied in order to be exploited in the avoidance of undesired traits linked to climate change (Carbonell‐Bejerano et al., 2015).

Wine quality and safety are the main concerns of consumers and health agencies. Biogenic amines and polyamines, depending on their concentration and on individuals, in wine can constitute a potential public health concern due to their physiological and toxicological effects

Over the last decade, the use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in the winemaking process has been re-assessed and accepted by winemakers. These yeasts can be used to achieve specific objectives such as lowering the ethanol content, preventing wine spoilage and increasing the production of specific aroma compounds. Since these species are unable to complete alcoholic fermentation, strategies of co- and sequential inoculation of non-Saccharomyces and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been developed. However, when mixed starter cultures are used, several parameters (e.g. strain yeast, inoculation timing and nutrient competitions) impact the growth of the individual yeasts, the fermentation kinetics and the metabolites/aroma production. In particular, competition for nitrogen compounds could have a major impact, potentially leading to sluggish fermentation when the yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) availability is low. Moreover, many aroma compounds produced by the yeasts are directly produced and influenced by nitrogen metabolism such as higher alcohols, acetate esters and ethyl esters which participate in the organoleptic complexity of wine.