Rootstock impact on foliar symptom expression of esca on Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet-Sauvignon

In many vineyards optimal parcel size exceeds the geospatial complexity that exists in soils and topographic features that influence hydrological properties, sunlight interception and soil depth and texture (available water capacity).

There are claims that wine grape cultivars are either isohydric or anisohydric; the former maintaining, and the latter decreasing, their plant water status as soil moisture declines. However, available information is inconsistent. There are those that show an existence of a continuum in cultivar response to soil moisture rather than a distinct categorization. Others even show both behaviors in the same cultivar grown in different environments. In this study we investigated the behavior of 30 own rooted Vitis vinifera cultivars during successive drydown and rewatering cycles over two growing seasons in arid eastern Washington (<200 mm annual precipitation).

Wine aroma is influenced by various factors, from agricultural practices in the vineyard to the enological choices made by winemakers throughout the vinification process. Spontaneous fermentations have a characteristically deeper complexity of aromas when compared to fermentations that have been inoculated with Saccharomyces (S.) cerevisiae because of the diversity of microflora naturally present on grape skins. Non-Saccharomyces yeast are being extensively studied for their ability to positively contribute to wine aroma and flavour. These yeasts are known to liberate more bound volatile compounds present in grape must than S. cerevisiae through the enzymatic action of β-glucosidases and β-lyases1.

Under standard champagne tasting conditions, the complex interplay between the level of dissolved CO2 found in champagne, its temperature, the glass shape, and the bubbling rate, definitely impacts champagne tasting by modifying the neuro-physico-chemical mechanisms responsible for aroma release and flavor perception. Based on theoretical principles combining heterogeneous bubble nucleation, ascending bubble dynamics and mass transfer equations, a global model is proposed (depending on various parameters of both the wine and the glass itself), which quantitatively provides the progressive losses of dissolved CO2 from laser-etched champagne glasses.

Color is one of the main qualitative parameters of a wine. As a matter of fact, immediately after having opened a bottle of wine, color, even before aroma and taste, is the first sensorial parameter to be evaluated by the consumer It can change according to various factors depending on the characteristics of the grapes or on the different production and storage processes.