Using open source software in viticultural research

Untargeted metabolomics has proven to be an effective method to study the impact of the terroir on metabolic profile of wines. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different soil types on the chemical composition of Mediterranean red wines, through 1H-NMR metabolomics combined with chemometrics.Grapes from Nero d’Avola L. red cultivar cultivated on four different soil types were separately vinified to obtain four different red wines.One milliliter of raw wine was analyzed by means of a Bruker Avance II 400 spectrometer operating at 400.15 MHz

Vineyard cover cropping is a cultural practice widely used in many of the world’s winegrowing regions being one of the most recommended practices to face climate changes and to promote vineyard environmental sustainability.

Context and purpose of the study ‐ An advancement of grapevine phenological development has been observed worldwide in the last two decades. In South Australia this phenomenon is even more accentuated since grapevine is often grown in a hot climate. The main consequences are earlier harvests at higher sugar levels which also result in more alcoholic wines. These are deemed undesirable for the Australian wine industry with consumer preferences shifting towards lower alcohol wines. Vineyard practices can be implemented to control and delay ripening. Amongst them, apical late leaf removal has been successfully applied in Europe to delay ripening by up to two weeks in Sangiovese, Aglianico and Riesling. In those studies, no negative effects were observed on grape colour, phenolics and on the carbohydrate storage capacity of the vines. To date, this technique has not been studied in Australia. In this study late leaf removal, apical to the bunch zone was applied to the variety Semillon for four seasons and compared to an untreated control.

Saccharomyces uvarum has interesting properties that can be exploited for the production of fermented beverages. Particularly, the cryotolerance and capacity to produce high amounts of volatile compounds offers new opportunities for the wine industry.

Climate change and reduction of inputs are two major challenges for viticulture and oenology. With increasing temperature, wines become less acid and microbiologically less stable (1).