Climate variability and its effects in the Penedès vineyard region (NE Spain)

Il mal dell’esca é una malattia della vite della quale sono state studiate sintomatologia, eziologia, patogenesi ed epidemiologia. Essendo una malattia che colpisce soprattutto la parte epigea delle piante, le caratteristiche dei suoli non sono mai state considerate fra le responsabili della sua insorgenza e diffusione.

Tempranillo Tinto (TT) is the third-most planted red wine variety in the world, and it is mostly grown in the Iberian Peninsula. Spontaneous somatic variation appearing during vegetative propagation can be exploited to improve elite varieties as Tempranillo Tinto, including the selection of new phenotypes enhancing berry quality. We described previously that a somatic variant of TT with darker fruit color, the clone VN21, exhibits increased extractability of polyphenols during the winemaking process. To unravel the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon, we performed whole-genome resequencing to compare VN21 to other TT clones, revealing a 10 Mb deletion in chromosome 11 that likely affected only the L1 meristem cell layer of VN21 and tissues derived from it, such as external cell layers of berry skin.

Varietal thiols 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3SH), 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate (3SHA) and 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4SMP) are essential for fruity aromas of Sauvignon Blanc wines. The concentration of varietal thiols in wines was thought to be related to the concentration of their precursors in grapes, however only a small proportion of precursors are released to varietal thiols during fermentation. New findings suggested that specific grape juice metabolites could significantly impact on the development of three major varietal thiols and other aroma compounds of Sauvignon Blanc wines.

This summary follows this made by Hervé Hannin et al. Entitled “French wine sector facing climate change (part. 1) : a national strategy built on a foresight and participatory approach “. The french wine sector has taken a collective approach to the issue of climate change, and has officially submitted its strategy to the minister of agriculture in 2021. This industry policy is the result of multidisciplinary work carried out through the “laccave” project (metaprogramme accaf, inrae) and its prospective study designed to anticipate climate change in the french wine industry (aigrain p. Et al., 2016). French wine professionals decided to structure a strategy to deal with climate change du in particular to the presentation made at the 2016 OIV congress in Brazil.

During the tasting of a fine, old wine, the aromas generated in the glass are intertwined in an intimate, complex manner, expressing the fragrance of the aging bouquet. This aging bouquet, which develops during bottle storage through a complex transformation process, may result in a broad palette of nuances. Among these, undergrowth, truffle, toasted, spicy, licorice, fresh red- and black-berry fruit and mint descriptors were recently identified as features of its olfactory representation for red Bordeaux wines. Although a targeted chemical approach focusing on volatile sulfur compounds revealed the role played by dimethyl sulfide, 2-furanmethanethiol, and 3-sulfanylhexanol as molecular markers of the typicality of the wine aging bouquet of red Bordeaux wines, its chemical transcription has only partially been elucidated.