Macrowine 2021
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Macrowine 9 Macrowine 2021 9 Grapevine diversity and viticultural practices for sustainable grape growing 9 The use of elicitors in the vineyard to mitigate the effects of climate change on wine quality

The use of elicitors in the vineyard to mitigate the effects of climate change on wine quality

Abstract

The wine sector is being directly affected by climate change. Temperatures above 30ºC can cause a lag between the ripening of the berry pulp (a rapid increase in sugar content) and the skin, due to the longer period required for the skin maturity (1,2). This leads to unbalanced wines, with high alcohol content and lacking in phenolic maturity (3). Many studies have been carried out searching for mechanisms to increase the content of polyphenols and to synchronize the two types of maturity. One option could be the use of elicitors, whose mechanism of action triggers biosynthetic pathways for defense compounds, including phenolic compounds (4). The objective of this study was to determine if the application of three different elicitors to Monastrell grapes during the maturation period could accelerate the synthesis of phenolic compounds and allow the obtention of wines with high phenolic concentration and moderate alcohol content. The elicitors used have been: LalVigneTM Mature, a compound made up of 100% specific fractions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae derivatives; Harpin αβ, a protein of bacterial origin; BION® 50 WG, a chemical inducer composed of the active material acibenzolar-S-methyl. This study has been carried out in 2019, in two different vineyards, one conducted with a trellis system and drip watered and the other one in a non-irrigated globet system. The treatment consisted in two applications at two different moments, at veraison and 14 days later. The grapes were harvested with 22ºBrix and also a control batch was harveted at 26ºBrix. Once the wines were bottled, the physicochemical and chromatic parameters by spectrophotometry were analyzed. The control wine from the trellised vineyard had an alcohol content of 13.81%, and the wines made with grapes treated with elicitors a presented 12.5%, 12.40% and 12.90% when Lavigne, Harpin and Bion were applied, respectly. The alcohol content of the wines made from the grapes from the non-irrigated vineyard was 14.37% for the control wine and 12.46, 13.18 and 12.85% for those made from grapes treated with Lavigne, Harpin and Bion, respectively. In both vineyards, the wines made from the grapes treated with the different elicitors have a lower pH and higher acidity than their respective control wine, mainly in the non-irrigated vineyard. Regarding the wine chromatic parameters and for the wines from elicitor-treated grapes from both vineyards, they presented higher tannin content and similar values of total phenols and color intensity than their control wines, not forgetting that the alcohol content of the former wines was one to two alcohol degrees lower than control wines. Therefore, the use of elicitors can be a promising treatment to speed up the accumulation of phenolics in the grapes so they can be harvested with a lower sugar content and obtain wines with less alcohol content and with an unaffected chromatic parameters.

DOI:

Publication date: September 2, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

María-Pilar Martínez-Pérez 

Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain,Ana-Belén Bautista-Ortín, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain. Encarna Gómez-Plaza, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.

Contact the author

Keywords

wine, grape, elicitors, phenolic compounds

Citation

Related articles…

Territoires et zones viticoles. Aspects climatiques, pédologiques, agronomiques. Caractérisation des terroirs viticoles: une étude systémique

On assiste actuellement à l’émergence d’une demande sociale forte à l’égard de fonctions par ailleurs traditionnelles de l’agriculture, qui concernent la gestion des ressources du milieu, le maintien d’un tissu social rural, la valorisation des territoires ruraux et l’entretien des paysages.

Protected Designation of Origin (D.P.O.) Valdepeñas: classification and map of soils

The objective of the work described here is the elaboration of a map of the different types of vineyard soils that to guide the famers in the choice of the most productive vine rootstocks and varieties. 90 vineyard soils profiles were analysed in the entire territory of the Origen Denominations of Valdepeñas. The sampling was carried out in 2018 (June to October) by making a sampling grid, followed by photointerpretation and control in the field. The studied soils can be grouped into 9 different soil types (according to FAO 2006 classification): Leptosols, Regosols, Fluvisols, Gleysols, Cambisols, Calcisols, Luvisols and Anthrosols. A map showing the soil distribution with different type of soils has been made with the ArcGIS program. Regarding to the choice of rootstock, Calcisoles are soils with a high active limestone content, so the rootstocks used in these soils must be resistant to this parameter; Luvisols are deep soils with high clay content, so they will support vigorous rootstocks. Because the cartographic units are composed of two or more subgroups, with are associated in variable proportions, 9 different soil associations have been established; Unit 1: Leptosols, Cambisols and Luvisols (80%, 15% and 5% respectively); Unit 2: Cambisols with Regosols and Luvisols (40%, 30% and 30% respectively); Unit 3: Cambisols and Gleysols with Regosols (40%, 40% and 20% respectively); Unit 4: Regosols with Cambisols, Leptosols and Calcisols (40%, 30%, 15% and 15% respectively); Unit 5: Cambisols, Leptosols, Calcisols and Regosols (25% each of them); Unit 6: Luvisols with Cambisol and Calcisols (80%, 10% and 10% respectively); Unit 7: Luvisols and Calcisols with Cambisols (40%, 40% and 20% respectively); Unit 8: Calcisols with, Cambisols and Luvisols (80%, 10% and 10% respectively); Unit 9: Anthrosols. These study allow to elaborate the first map of vineyard soils of this Protected Designation of Origin in Castilla-La Mancha.

Supramolecular approaches to the study of the astringency elicited by wine phenolic compounds

The objective of this study is to review the scientific evidences and to advance into the knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of astringency. Astringency has been described as the drying, roughing and puckering sensation perceived when some food and beverages are tasted (1). The main, but possibly not the only, mechanism for the astringency is the precipitation of salivary proteins (2,3). Between phenolic compounds found in red wines, flavan-3-ols are the group usually related to the development of this sensation. Other compounds, phenolic or not, like anthocyanins, polysaccharides and mannoproteins could act modifying or modulating astringency perception by hindering the interaction between flavanols and salivary proteins either because of their interaction with the flavanols or because of their interaction with the salivary proteins.

Selecting varieties best adapted to current and future climate conditions based on ripening traits

Aim: The aim of this study was to quantify key berry sugar accumulation traits and characterize their plasticity in response to climate variation from data collected from different cultivars over seven years from an experimental vineyard.

Can soil water content be used as a predictor of predawn leaf water potential for deficit irrigation scheduling? A case study at Alentejo wine region

Water and heat stress impose new challenges to irrigation management in the Mediterranean areas. This reality has a major impact on the vineyard ecosystem, particularly on the scarce water resources of the Alentejo region (South Portugal). To mitigate this problem, irrigation management should focus on optimizing yield and fruit quality per volume of water applied. This work aims to discuss the use of predawn leaf water potential and soil water status relationships as a decision tool for irrigation management taking as basis data from a field trial where two deficit irrigation strategies were compared.