Optimized protocol for high-quality RNA extraction from grape tissues using sorbitol pre-wash

Context and purpose of the study ‐ An advancement of grapevine phenological development has been observed worldwide in the last two decades. In South Australia this phenomenon is even more accentuated since grapevine is often grown in a hot climate. The main consequences are earlier harvests at higher sugar levels which also result in more alcoholic wines. These are deemed undesirable for the Australian wine industry with consumer preferences shifting towards lower alcohol wines. Vineyard practices can be implemented to control and delay ripening. Amongst them, apical late leaf removal has been successfully applied in Europe to delay ripening by up to two weeks in Sangiovese, Aglianico and Riesling. In those studies, no negative effects were observed on grape colour, phenolics and on the carbohydrate storage capacity of the vines. To date, this technique has not been studied in Australia. In this study late leaf removal, apical to the bunch zone was applied to the variety Semillon for four seasons and compared to an untreated control.

Aim: Terroir is a French concept relating the qualities and quality of agricultural products to their physical and socio-cultural place of origin. It is increasingly used by business and policymakers as a marketing technique to provide economic benefits (e.g. Lenglet, 2014; Wine Australia, 2015), and to potentially preserve cultural heritage (e.g. Bauer, 2009) and the environment (e.g. Bowen, 2010)

The use of new fungus disease-tolerant grapevine varieties is a long-term and promising solution to reduce chemical input in viticulture. However, little is known about the effects of water deficit (WD) on the thiol aromatic potential of new varieties coming up from breeding programs. Varietal thiols such as 3-sulfanylhexan-ol (3SH), 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4MSP) and their derivatives are powerful aromatic compounds present in wines coming from odorless precursors in grapes, and could contribute to the wine typicity of such varieties.

Plusieurs caves coopératives de l’AOC Côtes du Rhône se servent des informations du zonage pour la sélection des vendanges en fonction du terroir d’origine, afin d’élaborer des «cuvées terroir» et d’exploiter ainsi le potentiel qualitatif de leurs secteurs.

Context and purpose of the study. Current remote sensing strategies rely heavily on reflectance data and energy balance modelling using thermal imagery to estimate crop water use and stress.