Plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis and preliminary trials for the application of the DNA-free genome editing in grapevine cv. Corvina veronese

Downy and powdery mildew are major issues in grapevine cultivation, requiring many phytosanitary treatments to ensure yield and quality. Climatic changes are also challenging grape cultivation

Wine grape berries respond to postharvest treatments with specific gaseous elicitors in terms of metabolic changes and composition. Short-term (3 days) high (30 KPa) CO2 treatment affects phenol compound concentration in skins of ‘Trebbiano toscano’ berries.

The interactions among aromatic compounds and proteins is an important issue for the quality of foods and beverages. In wine, the loss of flavor after vinification is associated to bentonite treatment and this effect can be the result of the removal of aroma compounds which are bound wine proteins. This phenomenon was recently demonstrated for long chain fatty acids and their ethyl esters (1). Since these latter compounds are spectroscopically silent, their association with proteins is not easy to measure.

The increasingly frequent heat waves during grape ripening pose challenges for high quality wine grape production. Defoliation is a common practice that can improve the control of diseases in bunches, but also it increases the exposure to sunlight. Grapes exposed to solar radiation reach temperatures over the optimum for berry development and maturation. This makes the development of irrigation and canopy management techniques of great importance to maximize yield and grape quality. A field experiment was carried out during 2021 using Manto negro wine grapes to study the effect of applied irrigation and different light exposure levels on grape quality. Two irrigation treatments were imposed based on the frequency and amount of water doses in a four-block experimental vineyard at Bodega Ribas (Mallorca). Three light exposure treatments were randomly applied in each irrigation plot. The light treatments included exposed clusters from pea size, non-exposed clusters, and shaded clusters after softening. Leaf area index and canopy porosity was estimated every 2 weeks. Midday leaf water potential was measured weekly. Additionally, apparent electrical conductivity was measured between rows to estimate the soil water content variability. Light and temperature sensors were installed at the bunch level to quantify the differences in bunch temperature and light intensity among treatments. The effect of irrigation and cluster light exposure on berry weight, TSS, TA, malic acid, tartaric acid, K+, and pH were analysed at 5 moments along grape ripening. During different heat waves, the natural shading technique decreased the maximum bunch temperature around 10 °C respect to the exposed bunches in both irrigation strategies. The combination of defoliation and shading techniques after softening decreased TSS at harvest and affected most of the quality parameters during the last stages of ripening, showing an interesting technique to delay ripening in warm viticulture areas.

Aims: Establishing an image of fine wine through the Geographical Indication (GI) system is of interest to the Australian wine sector. Beyond provenance, the sensory experience of fine wine is often linked to consumption with appropriate foods. For this purpose, studies were undertaken to understand consumer perceptions of what