Enhancing grape traceability from grower to consumer through GS1 Standards: A case study of the Australian table grape industry

Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are among the greatest challenges of our time, and agriculture’s use of pesticides is a major driver.

The precise molecular mechanisms underlying the domestication of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) Are still not fully understood. In the recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS) of plastid genomes has emerged as a powerful and increasingly effective tool for plant phylogenetics and evolution. To uncover the biological profile of the grapevine domestication process comprehensively, an investigation should encompass both the cultivated varieties (V. vinifera subsp. Vinifera) and their wild ancestors V. vinifera subsp. Sylvestris) across all potential sites of their distribution and domestication.

Polyphenols are very important compounds of red wines, serving as essential bioactive components and playing an important role in sensory properties. The determination of individual phenolic compounds in red wine is commonly performed by HPLC analysis, while the total polyphenols are quantified by spectrophotometric methods, usually by the method of absorbance at 280 nm (index of ribéreau-gayon) or the method of index of folin-ciocalteu. In this work, we pioneeringly proposed a new and fast method for simultaneous determination of individual and total polyphenols in red wines by direct-injection HPLC without sample preparation.

Despite their significant impact on wine quality and stability, colloids in red wine remain relatively under-researched. A series of studies, developed in the context of the d-wines project, aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the structure, composition, and formation mechanisms of red wine colloids by studying monovarietal wines from 10 of the most significant Italian red grape varieties. Starting from the idea that proteins, polysaccharides, and tannins should be involved in colloid formation, 110 monovarietal red wines were analysed for these components, revealing high inter- and intra-varietal diversity [1].

Following the acquired awareness of the presence of ochratoxin A in grape derivatives, actions were undertaken to contain this contamination, and attempts were made to evaluate the presence of any other molecule belonging to this class.