Proanthocyanin composition in new varieties from monastrell

Antão Vaz is a Portuguese white grapevine variety grown mainly in the wine-growing regions of Southern Portugal, particularly in the Alentejo, Lisbon and Setúbal peninsula regions. It is a very vigorous and productive variety, giving the wines a strong identity. It needs heat and sunlight and prefers deep and dry soils, which makes it tolerant to scald caused by the high summer temperatures of Southern Portugal. However, this variety is very susceptible to downy mildew, caused by plasmopara viticola, a very destructive disease in years with rainy springs.

Different “landscape unit” have been identified in Bolgheri area (a viticultural appellation in the Tirrenian coast of Tuscany) by the aid of pedological, landscape and agronomic observations in the 1992-1993 period. In all cultivar (Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) x landscape unit combinations, experimental plots were chosen in homogeneous vineyards, single cordon trained (about 3300-4500 vines/hectare). Grape maturation was studied by weekly samples of berries from veraison to vintage in the 1992-1995 period. At harvest yield and must composition traits were measured and, from the most représentative plots, sixty kilograms of grapes were harvested each year and vinified according to a standardised scheme. Wines were evaluated by standard chemical and sensory analyses.

Grapevine is a crop of great economic importance for several countries. The intensification of grapevine production has mostly been sustained by the increasing use of water resources at the expense of the environmental water balance. Moreover, in the last decades, climate change and the consequent expansion of drought have further compromised water availability, making current agricultural systems even more fragile both ecologically and economically. Recently, many research groups have highlighted the important role of endophytes in facilitating plant growth under optimal or stressful conditions. Within the framework of the PRIMA project, we aim to investigate the possible exploitation of the natural endophyte biodiversity as a sustainable tool to make grapevine plants more resilient to water deficit environmental conditions.

L’appellation d’origine contrôlée repose sur une définition précise de l’aire de production du raisin. Cette délimitation définie par l’Institut National des Appellations d’Origine est proposée par des experts choisis pour leurs compétences dans le domaine de la connaissance de la relation terroir – vins, après avis du syndicat de défense de chaque AOC.

This study used climatic and topographic data to characterize the sub-appellations that have been recently delineated in the Niagara Peninsula viticulture area in order to assess their potential for ripening early to late season Vitis vinifera varieties. No major differences were found in the ripening-period mean temperatures, but major differences in the diurnal temperature ranges were observed.