Freeze-thaw treatment to enhance phenolic ripening and tannin oxidation of seeds

The grapevine is facing significant challenges due to climate change, as rising temperatures impact its physiological traits and disrupt plant phenology.

The postharvest dehydration of grapes is a traditional practice to obtain wines with unique traits (e.g. sweet, dry/reinforced). The modern facilities (dehydrating rooms) used for this purpose are equipped with systems for artificially controlling the inside environment parameters, to obtain the desired dehydration kinetic and preserve the grapes from grey mold (Botrytis cinerea) infection, However, the conditioning systems are extremely energy-demanding and the identification and practical applications of solutions effective in controlling/reducing the postharvest decay would reduce the costs of the operation of the dehydration facilities. To this end, we explored the potential of ozone-based treatments on harvested grapes and preliminarily tested if the treatment could impact the normal behavior and metabolism of grapes during the traditionally slow dehydration practice.

Wineries may randomly reject fruit from vineyards near wild fires exposed to smoke. It is difficult to determine if fruit has been compromised in quality when exposed to smoke

Young white wines are typically released to the market a few months after harvest, to be consumed within a year, when their fresh fruity aromas are still dominant and appealing to modern consumers. Esters, particularly higher alcohol acetates (HAAs) and ethyl esters of fatty acids (EEFAs), play a central role in the fruity expression of young white wines [1]. However, these esters are known to undergo significant hydrolysis during the first months of aging [1, 2].

This work, included in the VAVEGEX project, aims to evaluate the oenological, phenolic, chromatic and sensory characteristics of the grapes, must and wines produced from cv. Tortojona, minority variety grown in Extremadura region (Southwest, Spain).