New breeding frontiers: application of the CRISPR-cas9 system in grapevine (V. vinifera L.) and improvements in plant regeneration

In Washington State, the majority of winegrape (Vitis vinifera) vineyards are planted to their own roots. This practice is possible due to the lack of established phylloxera populations, and is preferred due to the ease of retraining after damaging winter cold events. However, own-rooted V. vinifera is generally susceptible to most plant parasitic nematodes that attack grape. In Washington State, management of nematodes is dominated by preplant soil fumigation. One practice that may mitigate economic loss due to nematodes is the adoption of nematode-“resistant” rootstocks.

The Portuguese wine production is characterized by wide yield fluctuations, causing considerable implications in the economic performance of this sector. The possibility of predicting the yield in advance is crucial as it enables preliminary planning and management of the available resources. The present work aims to study and evaluate two different techniques for the assessment of vine fertility. vineyards.

Knowledge of the reflectance spectrum of grape leaves is important to the identification of grape varieties in images of viticultural regions where several cultivars co-exist.

In a collective marketing strategy, the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) can be used as a quality indicator. To highlight terroir specificities, it is useful to know how the wines are positioned on the local, national or international market from a sensory point of view. This is especially true for a comparison of varietal wines (e.g. Sauvignon blanc). We focus on the case of two closed Loire Valley PDO (France): Quincy and Reuilly. Three distinct tastings were organized. Firstly, at the local level comparing the 2 PDO (11 and 9 wines, 17 professional assessors); secondly at a regional level adding 3 closed PDO: Menetou-Salon, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé (3 wines per PDO, 16 assessors) and thirdly at an international level comparing these 5 PDO with Sauvignon Blanc wines coming from South Africa, New Zealand and Chile (1 to 3 wines per PDO, 19 assessors). All the wines were from the 2019 vintage and were considered to have a traditional elaboration process without contact with oak. A sensory descriptive analysis was performed using an aroma wheel allowing to combine a Check-All-That-Apply methodology, often used in sensory benchmarking, with a hierarchical structuration of the attributes. The aim is to facilitate data acquisition in a professional context without common training, to consider the hierarchical relationships among the attributes during the data analysis and to be able to characterize wines with a large range of sensorial variability. We use univariate, multivariate and clustering analyses. Similarities and differences between Quincy and Reuilly PDO wines and other Sauvignon blanc wines were identified. Specific attributes can distinguish the two PDO and different proximities exist with other local PDO, while clear differences were observed compared to international wines. Our study contributes to propose and discuss a method to do a wine sensory benchmarking highlighting sensory specificities linked to origin.

Light exposure is one of the major factors affecting the sensory quality of rosé wines and resulting in the light-struck fault.