Viticultural practices: past, present and future

The climate change is afecting particulary to the South of Spain, with high temperatures. It is important to develop new strategies in order to mantain the quality of wines

Grape pomace is one of the main by-products generated after pressing in winemaking.Emerging methods, such as ultrasound-assisted extraction with eutectic mixtures, have great potential due to their low toxicity, and high biodegradability. Choline chloride (ChCl) was used as a hydrogen bond acceptor and its corresponding hydrogen bond donor (malic acid, citric acid, and glycerol: urea). Components were heated at 80 °C and stirred until a clear liquid was obtained. Distilled water was added (30 % v/v). A solid-liquid ratio of 1 g pomace per 10 ml of eutectic solvent was used.

Balsamic vinegars of Modena (Italy), namely Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI (AB PGI) and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena PDO (ABT PDO) are among the most important geographical indication products for Italy. ABT PDO, despite its very limited production, is recognized as one of the most representative Italian artisan gastronomic products, and it is known and commercialized all around the world. The economic value of ABT PDO (“affinato” and “extra-vecchio” types, depending on the aging), prepared following a traditional way and aged for many years in a set of barrels (transferring a certain amount of vinegar from one cask to another in a decreasing “topping up” procedure) is great, when compared to AB industrially prepared with caramel. AB PGI is certainly the most widespread industrial-type vinegar in the world, deriving from low-temperature condensed grape must (or cooked must) mixed with wine vinegar, obtaining balsamic vinegars with a caramel-like taste. Depending on its economic value, ABT PDO is often object of fraud, requiring to fight counterfeit products and imitations.

Haze formation in wine during transportation and storage is an important issue for winemakers, since turbid wines are unacceptable for sale. Such haze often results from aggregation of unstable grape proteinaceous colloids. To date, foreseeably unstable wines need to be treated with bentonite to remove these, while excessive quantities, which are often required, affect the wine volume and quality (Cosme et al. 2020). One solution to avoid these drawbacks might be the use of peptidases. Marangon et al. (2012) reported that Aspergillopepsins I and II were able to hydrolyse the respective haze-relevant proteins in combination with a flash pasteurisation. In 2021, the OIV approved this enzymatic treatment for wine stabilisation (OIV-OENO 541A and 541B).

The recent Free Trade Agreement negotiations between Australia and the European Union have again put the issue of Geographical Indications (GIs) in the spotlight. Australia has long demonstrated its understanding of GIs and maintains a clear and rigorous GI protection system for wine. For many years, Australia’s wine sector was a strong advocate for GIs and a strong system to protect the