Using nanopore skim-sequencing to characterise regional epigenetic variability in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

In the context of climate change, water availability, together with rising temperatures, is one of the main factors driving the relocation of viticulture to new regions.

The wine industry faces many challenges including spoilage, mostly attributed to Brettanomyces bruxellensis as the main spoilage yeast.

In recent decades, sustainability has risen to prominence across various industries, including agriculture, spurred by initiatives such as the new common agricultural policy and the farm to fork strategy within the European Union. Among agricultural activities, viticulture stands as a crucial player in sustainability, intertwining environmental, social, and economic dimensions, as exemplified by the OIV general principles of sustainable viticulture. Italy, one of the main players in the global wine market, has long been making efforts towards the introduction of sustainability-oriented practices and certifications.

Yeast species S. cerevisiae, S. uvarum, S. kudriavzevii and their hybrids present clear metabolic differences, even when we compared S. cerevisiae wine versus wild strain. These species and hybrids produced significantly higher amounts of glycerol, organic acids, 2,3-butanediol, and 2-phenyl ethanol and a reduction of the ethanol yield, properties very interesting in the sector to deal with climate change effects. To understand the existing differences, we have used several omics techniques to analyze the dynamics of the (intra- and extracellular) metabolomes and/or transcriptomes of representative strains of S. cerevisiae, S. uvarum, S. kudriavzevii, and hybrids.

Wine lees are the sediment that settles at the bottom of wine barrels, tanks, or bottles during the winemaking process and represent the second most significant by-product of wineries.