Novel approaches and promising perspectives for enhancing grapevine editing and regeneration

Plastic film covering is a technique largely used in viticulture to protect table grapes vines from adverse weather conditions and to reduce the negative effects of grapevine fungi disease. Plastic film composition affects solar radiation income inside the covering with effects on sunlight wavelengths in relation to different absorbance and reflectance. The interaction of selected light ranges with vines could influence grape ripening and yield and consequently influence shelf life.

Sotolon (3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone) is a naturally occurring odorant compound with a strong caramel/spice-like scent, present in many foodstuffs. Its positive contribution for the aroma of different fortified wines such as Madeira, Port and Sherry is recognized. In contrast, it is also known to be responsible for the off-flavor character of prematurely aged dry white wines. The formation mechanisms of sotolon in wine are still not well elucidated, particularly in Madeira wines, which are submitted to thermal processing during its traditional ageing. The sotolon formation in these wines has been related to sugar degradation mechanisms, particularly from fructose [1].

Armenia, a small country in the South of the Caucasus, has been rediscovering its wine-growing past since the discovery in 2007 of archaeological wine-growing remains dating back around 8,000 years. They are among the oldest in the world. Despite a great diversity of grape varieties, Armenian winegrowers did not have sufficiently organized genetic collections to produce plants and satisfy the growing demand for planting.

Aim: to elucidate if it is possible to detect variations in the source of nitrogen (organic vs. inorganic) measuring nitrogen isotope ratio (δ15N) in berries and to examine the degree of variation occurring for this parameter naturally within a vineyard.

At long term, qualitative irrigation seems to be the most systematic, if not the best, cultural practice for dealing with climate change and yield increases without decrease grape quality.