Greek and Cypriot grape varieties as a sustainable solution to mitigate climate change

Aims: Forecasting the biomass allocation among source and sinks organs is crucial to better understand how grapevines control the distribution of acquired resources and has a great meaning in term of making decisions about agricultural practices in vineyards. Modelling plant growth and development is one of prediction approaches that play this role when it concerns growth rates in response to variation in environmental conditions

Organic wines, although resulting from a production method based on the non-use of synthetic phytosanitary products, are not always free of residues. These residues can result from cross-contamination during production in the field or in the cellar, during the production or aging of the wine. In recent years, with the improvement of analysis techniques, a molecule, phosphonic acid, the main metabolite of fosetyl-al (banned in organic farming) is regularly quantified in organic wines and its origin is not clearly identified.

During wine aging many compositional changes take place. In particular, aroma undergoes dramatic modifications through a wide range of reactions that to date are only partly understood. Italy owns one of the largest ampelographic heritages worldwide, with over three-hundred different varieties. Among these, many white grapes are employed for the production of dry still white wines. Some of these wines are consumed young while others are more prone to aging. For many of these wines, the aging patterns related to volatile composition are still unknown.

The development of non-animal and non-allergenic alternatives to traditional protein fining agents used in winemaking is of critical importance in order to ensure consumer safety and production sustainability. This study evaluates the effect of protein extracted from three types of algae (spirulina, chlorella vulgaris and tetraselmis chuii) as fining agents on the polymeric proanthocyanidin content responsible for astringency, as well as their effect on the colour, phenolic composition and volatile aroma of two white wines (a and b).

Morphological image analysis is a powerful technique used in various fields, including agriculture, to quantitatively assess the physical characteristics of objects. In viticulture, the accurate assessment of grapevine characteristics is essential for optimizing crop management and improving the quality of wine production.