Optimization of in vitro establishment of grapevine varieties for fast micropropagation 

The first South African wine was made by Jan van Riebeeck on the second of February 1659. His initial determination to produce wine at the Cape refreshment station was continued by other governors

Astringency is a specific oral sensation dominated by dryness and puckering feeling and is one of the leading quality factors for red wines, as well as some fruit products

Light-struck taste is a defect prevalent in white wines bottled in clear glass light-exposed for a considerable amount of time leading to a loss of color and appearance of sulfur-like odors. The reaction involves riboflavin (RF), a highly photosensitive compound that undergoes to intermolecular photoreduction by the uptake of two electron equivalents from an external donor, the methionine. The reaction includes different steps forming methional which is extremely unstable and decomposes to methane thiol and acrolein. The reaction of two molecules of methane thiol yields dimethyl disulfide. Methane thiol is highly volatile, has a low perception threshold (2 to 10 µg/L in wine) and confers aroma-like rotten eggs or cabbage.

Conventional vineyard practices have lead in many environmental disturbances as erosion, soil compaction, loss of organic matter and soil biodiversity, water contamination

150 years ago grafting was identified as the most efficient method to combat phylloxera, this stimulated the active breeding of grapevine rootstocks and provided numerous rootstocks that are still in use today. Since then and over the 20th century, only a few new genotypes were been released.