‘It’s a small, yappy dog’: The British idea of terroir

Aceto balsamico di Modena IGP (ABM) is an Italian worldwide appreciated PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) vinegar,  obtained from cooked and/or concentrated grape must (at least 20% of the volume), with the addition of at least 10% of wine vinegar and a maximum 2% of caramel for color stability (EU Reg. 583/ 2009).

homogeneous zones by intersecting several partial zonings of major factors that influence vineyard growth. Each of them follows specific process from their corresponding disciplines. Soil zoning specifically refers to a Soil Resource Inventory map that has traditionally been generated by conventional soil mapping methods. These methods have shortcomings in reaching fine cartographic and categorical details and involve significant expenses, which undermines their applicability. A new framework named Digital Soil Mapping has introduced quantitative models by statistical techniques to establish soil-landscape relationships and is able to provide intensive scale cartography.

In the present study, a microzoning at 1:10.000 scale is generated from an initial zoning, where the conventional soil map with polytaxic map units is replaced by a new one from digital techniques that disaggregates them. The comparison between the zonings considers a quantitative evaluation of capability for each Homogeneous Terroir Unit by means of the Viticultural Quality Index and its categorization based on its distribution by map. The spatial intersection of both maps gives rise to a confusion matrix in which the flows of class variations after the substitution are assessed.

The results show a five-fold increase in the number of Homogeneous Terroir Units identified and a larger differentiation among them, evidenced by a wider range in the capability index distribution. Both elements are accompanied by an increase in the detection of areas of higher potential within previously undervalued uniform zones.These features are a direct effect of the improvements brought by Digital Soil Mapping techniques and would verify the advantages of their implementation in the Integrated Terroir zoning. Eventually, such new highly detailed terroir units would benefit precision viticulture and sustainable management practices.

The variety Aragonez (sin. Tempranillo), recently introduced in the San Francisco Valley (9º02′ S; 40º11′ W) has revealed an excellent adaptation, with high potential of quality and yield, even without clonal material.

Mint aromas in wine, which manifest as “cool” or “fresh” character, can originate from different chemical classes, one of which is the terpenoids. A broadly diverse, naturally occurring class of chemical compounds, terpenes possess wide applications across multiple industries due to their pharmaceutical, antiseptic, medical, and aromatic properties. Monoterpenes, a subclass of terpenoids, likewise play a major role in wine sensory perception. Within the monoterpenes, those possessing “mint” odor qualities have often been studied in the context of “vegetal” or “herbal” wine faults; however, their role in positive aromatic evolution is less understood. Yet an extensive 2015 study of older premium Bordeaux red wines identified mint as a contributing factor in quality bouquet development. From that point, it was necessary to investigate the origins of those monoterpenes as well as the chemical conditions required for their development during ageing. Those two key points could finally facilitate predicting the apparition of minty character in older wines based on their composition while young.
A principal contributor is the cyclic monoterpene limonene, which was isolated relatively early in grapes and wine. Not only does limonene itself possess a cool, fresh odor, it is also a precursor for, and possible derivative of, additional mint monoterpenes. Among the most commonly found monoterpenes, limonene and its derivatives can constitute the majority of the essential oils of citrus fruits, mint and herb plants, and coniferous trees. Many of these mint monoterpenes also occur in grapes and wine. With aromas ranging from woody and earthy to citrus to mint and herbaceous, their contribution to wine is potentially diverse and multi-faceted. While sometimes, found at concentrations below the sensory threshold, synergistic effects between these molecules could render them perceivable.
This review looks at limonene and its transformation as studied in different matrices, and potential parallels or analogues in wine. Moreover, within the complex kinetics of wine aging, the relative concentrations of mint monoterpenes appears to continue to evolve and change, with additional evidence from model wine solutions suggesting they may even revert to their originating precursors. Continued study of mint monoterpenes and their role in wine aromatics will contribute to a deeper understanding of the development of aging bouquet and the longevity of premium wines.

Successful powdery mildew (PM) infection in plants relies on Mildew Resistance Locus O (MLO) genes, which encode susceptibility factors essential for fungal penetration. In Arabidopsis, loss-of-function mutations in three clade-V MLOs, AtMLO2, 6, and 12 confer complete resistance to PM infection. Since then, efforts are on to discover MLO genes contributing to PM susceptibility in many species to introduce mlo-based PM-resistance. Earlier studies in tomato and grapevine, using the RNAi approach, attributed PM susceptibility to SlMLO1, 5, and 8 and VvMLO3, 13, and 17, respectively indicating likely functional redundancy among MLOs.