Exploring high throughput secondary trait phenomics to improve grapevine breeding

The project REALISM (regionality and circular economy in food products to counteract the Metabolic Syndrome (M.S.)) was initiated to develop antioxidant-rich food products with the ability to reduce the risk of developing the M.S.

Although some wine production processes still rely on post-production evaluation and off-site laboratory analysis, the new winemaking industry is aware of a need for a better knowledge of the process to improve the properties of the final product. Thus, more and more wineries are interested in incorporating quality-by-design (QbD) strategies instead of postproduction testing because of the possibility to early detect deviations in fermentation or any other wine process. This would allow to detect unwanted situations and eventually to ‘readjust’ the process, thus minimizing rejects.

Resveratrol is a well-known wine constituent with a wide range of activities. In wines, resveratrol can be oxidized to form various derivatives including oligomers [1]. In this study, resveratrol derivative transformation in hydroalcoholic solution was investigated by oxidative coupling using metals. De novo resveratrol derivatives were synthetized and analysed by NMR and MS experiments

This study evaluates the effect of microwave treatment in grape maceration on the content of free and glycosidically bound varietal compounds) of must and wine and on the overall aroma of wines produced in the presence and absence of SO2.

In partnership with a Bordeaux property wanting to improve the quality of its second wine, the effects of two factors, American oak barrels and mannoproteins were studied. Their impact on the attractiveness and sweetness of wines were characterized during two successive vintages (2012 and 2013). Vinification took place with a homogeneous batch of Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was then divided up into various groups of five barrels of French and American oak, new or reused. Analyses of volatile and non-volatile wood compounds were undertaken at four months and eight months of wood ageing, by LC-MS and GC-MS.