Canopy microclimate vineyard variability in vineyards of the Lodi region of California, USA

For characterization, sensory designing and authentication rapid analytical technologies have become available. Some, like Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry allow a rapid spectrum of the volatile compounds of wines. Combined with chemometrics wines can be characterized. The same approach can be used to calculate the results of virtual mixtures and allow formulation of constant quality blends. Other new techniques and portable devices based on spectroscopy allow measurements on production sites and in grocery stores, even for the smart consumer. We will present some examples of the application of these techniques for authentication of wines, both in the laboratory and on site.

Wine quality and safety are the main concerns of consumers and health agencies. Biogenic amines and polyamines, depending on their concentration and on individuals, in wine can constitute a potential public health concern due to their physiological and toxicological effects

Excessive fertilization of the vineyard leads to low quality grapes, increased costs and a negative impact on the environment. In order to establish an integrated management system aimed at a sustainable fertilization of the vineyards, nutritional reference levels were established. For this purpose, 30 representative vineyards of the Albariño variety were studied, in which soil and petiole analyses were carried out for two years and grape yield and quality at harvest were measured. In both years of study, soil pH, calcium, sodium and cation exchange capacity were positively correlated with calcium content and negatively correlated with manganese in grapes. Irrigated vineyards had higher levels of aluminium in soil and lower levels of calcium in petiole. Climatic conditions were very different in the years of the study. The year 2019 was colder than usual, in 2020 there was a marked water stress with high summer temperatures. This resulted in medium-high acidity in grapes in 2019 and low acidity in 2020, with sugar levels being similar both years. A very marked decrease in must amino nitrogen was observed in 2020, with ammonia nitrogen remaining stable. The correlation of acidity and sugar values in grapes with soil and petiole analysis data made it possible to establish reference levels for the nutritional diagnosis of the Albariño variety in this region. Based on these results, an easy-to-use TIC application is currently being created for grapegrowers, aimed at improving the sustainability of the vineyard through reasoned fertilization. This study has now been extended to other Galician vine varieties.

Current climatic challenges in the wine sector require innovative solutions to maintain the quality of wines while adapting oenological practices to changing conditions. This article presents the detailed study of a lachancea thermotolerans strain on matrices typical of the French mediterranean area.

Disease resistant grapevine varieties (PIWI) are increasingly important for sustainable wine production, yet the impact of different yeasts on their wine profiles remains poorly studied. In this study, nine white interspecies varieties (i.e., caladris blanc, fleurtai, hibernal, johanniter, muscaris, sauvignon kretos, soreli, souvignier gris, and voltis) grown at the faculty of agriculture, university of Zagreb (Croatia) were vinified with three different saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts (control strain, zymaflore x5, and zymaflore xarom).