Combination of NIR multispectral information acquired from a ground moving vehicle with AI methods to assess the vine water status in a Tempranillo (Vitis vinifera L.) commercial vineyard

Wine storage ensuring the quality and correct aging is one of the issues that wineries, wine traders and consumers encounter after wine bottling.

Non-Saccharomyces starter cultures became increasingly popular over the years because of their potential to produce more distinctive and unique wines. The major benefit of the use of Lachancea thermotolerans as a fermentation starter is its ability to produce relevant amounts of lactic acid and reduce alcoholic strength, making it valuable for mitigating negative impacts of climate change on grapes and wine quality. Besides, like any other non-Saccharomyces yeast, L. thermotolerans can significantly affect a whole range of other physico-chemical wine parameters.

Knowledge has been accumulated on the impact of microclimate, in particular berry temperature and irradiation, for a wide range of red varieties. However, little research has been dedicated on the effects of the same factors on the quality of white grape varieties.

The accession Criolla Chica Nº2 (CCN2) is catalogued as a floral mutation of cultivar Criolla Chica (synonym for cv. Listán Prieto). Contrary to what is observed in hermaphrodite-cultivated varieties like Criolla Chica, CCN2 exhibits a prevalence of masculinized flowers. Aiming to study the incidence and phenotypical implications of this mutation, CCN2 plants were deeply studied using Criolla Chica ‘Ballista’ (CCBA) as control plants. For each CCN2 plant, two inflorescences per shoot were sampled and segmented into proximal, mid and distal positions, relative to the pedicel. Flowers were observed through magnifying lens and classified according to OIV151 descriptor.

Consumer preference favors flint-glass wine bottles over the traditional dark-colored, but it is documented that light exposure can cause white wines to produce off-aromas and change in color, and consequently da[1]mage their quality. Aim of the study was to study the white wine shelf life under the typical supermarket conditions, by recording the light and temperature exposure, the colorimetric changes, and the light-strike fault. METHODS: One pilot experiment based on two white wines and eight-time points and one kinetic experiment based on four white wines and seven-time points were designed and realized using a typical supermarket shelf for 32 and 50 days, correspondently. By installing prototype sensors at 32 points of the shelf, the temperature, UV, IR, and Visible light exposure were registered every 10 min. Approximately 600 commercial wines, bottled in flint and colored glass, were used. The colorimetric changes of the wines were registered and the light-strike fault was evaluated.