Using a grape compositional model to predict harvest time and influence wine style

Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is a common viticultural practice for wine grape production. In addition to the potential improvement of water use efficiency, the adoption of this technique favors smaller canopies with higher levels of fruit sun exposure, enhancing quality attributes associated with red wine grapes such as smaller berries with higher tannins and anthocyanins. However, these quality attributes do not necessarily transfer to white wine grapes. The goal of this project was to assess whether partial rootzone drying (PRD) is more suited than RDI to grow high-end white wine grapes in arid climates, especially aromatic varieties, using Riesling as a model.

Nowadays the use of non-Saccharomyces as starters of alcoholic fermentation (AF) has increased because of the modulation of the organoleptic profile of wines

Context and Purpose of the Study. The use of herbicides and mechanical soil tillage, particularly on steep slopes, poses significant ecological challenges, including soil compaction and erosion.

Flavescence dorée (FD) stands out as a significant grapevine disease with severe implications for vineyards. The American grapevine leafhopper (Scaphoideus titanus) serves as the primary vector, transmitting the pathogen that causes yield losses and elevated costs linked to uprooting and replanting. Another potential vector of FD is the mosaic leafhopper, Orientus ishidae, commonly found in agroecosystems. The current monitoring approach involves periodic human identification of chromotropic traps, a labor-intensive and time-consuming process.

The use of cover crops in viticulture has increased in recent decades as growers seek to reduce herbicide use, improve soil organic matter and biodiversity, and minimize soil-related agronomic issues such as compaction and erosion.