Which potential for Near Infrared Spectroscopy to characterize rootstock effects on grapevines?

Trends already extended for more than 12 years show a decline in both consumption and international trade, particularly in volume. However, there are also positive signs in several categories of wine, segments and markets, as well as a better trend in terms of value. How are these trends affecting wine producers and distributors? Are they short or long term? do they mean radical and permanent changes to which a way of adaptation has to be found or are they just temporary changes that may only require some calm? How are companies adapting to these new trends? Which are their effects on wine regions?

In recent years, the consumption of fine wines in Brazil has increased significantly, a phenomenon that is also reflected in the expansion of production to new regions. In the brazilian southeast for example, the so-called “winter wines” are being produced, through management in two cycles, one of formation and one of production, with two prunings and one harvest per year, a technique known as double pruning, with vineyards established at altitudes close to or above 1,000 m above sea level.

Among the items preserved in gene banks, the old standard and autochthonous varieties represent an increasing value, since these varieties may have properties to make their cultivation more effective under changing climatic conditions. The increasingly extreme weather is a huge challenge for the viticulture. Collectional varieties can also play important role in protection against pests and pathogens. A genebank ensures not only the preservation of rare varieties, but also gives the opportunity for more knowledge and research of these varieties.

CropManage (CM) is an online decision support service (DSS) developed by the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources for assisting farmers with efficiently managing water and nitrogen fertilizer to match the site-specific needs of their crops.

Aims: In previous work, five indigenous Pichia kluyveri strains, GS1-1, FS-2-7, HS-2-1, C730 and C732, were isolated and selected from spontaneous fermented wines from Ningxia and Gansu. The aims of this study were to 1) evaluate resistance of these strains to environmental stressors that may restrict their growth and the progress of alcoholic fermentation; 2) Investigate their fermentation dynamics; 3) Characterise aroma profiles of Cabernet Sauvignon wines made from mixed cultures of P. kluyveri and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.