Effects of rootstock and environment on the behaviour of autochthone grapevine varieties in the Douro region

Irrigation of vineyards is a matter of controversial arguments at areas of high quality wine production. Besides, the effects of the water in the plant are closer related to the water availability than to the irrigation regime.

Ecological sustainability refers to developing viticulture in adequate environmental conditions.

The adaptation of rootstock to scion variety and soil determines largely the control of the vegetative growth for grapevine. Many experiments were performed in the vineyard to classify the rootstocks according to their soil adaptation and to their effect on vine vigour. So far there are no data describing the course of appearance of rootstock effects after plantation. Moreover the underlying mechanisms of conferred vigour remain largely unknown.

Located in the western bekaa region of lebanon, rachaya is known for its extensive history of viticulture and ideal mediterranean conditions for grapevine cultivation. Despite the area’s importance in grapevine production, there is limited knowledge about the local grape varieties grown there. In this work, we conducted a detailed analysis of five local grapevine varieties in the area, obeidy, kassoufi, foddeh, aswadi, and maryami, of which little is currently known, in comparison to a set of international varieties.

UV-Visible spectroscopy in conjunction with chemometrics, was successfully applied to objectively differentiate sparkling wine press juice fractions of Pinot noir. Two measurements methods were applied: reflectance using a fibre optic probe in-line and transmission using a benchtop spectrophotometer.