Climatic influences on Mencía grapevine phenology and grape composition for Amandi (Ribeira Sacra, Spain)

Wineries of Beaumes-de-Venise area make their best red wines with grapes from the “Triassic terroir”. This « terroir » is characterized by soils from the Triassic period. These specific soils are complex and quite heterogeneous. They originate from an eventful geological history to keep in mind to understand soils geographical distribution.

I performed my PhD in grapevine physiology under the supervision of Dr. H. Medrano, standing in the vineyards from pre-dawn to sunrise during many hot, wet and sunny days with my colleagues J.M.E. and J.B. I also spent many days and nights facing ticks year-round working in Mediterranean macchias with J.Gu. and M.M. Later I was able to supervise PhD students on grapevines – like A.P. and M.T. – and on Mediterranean vegetation – like J.Gal. With the incorporation to the group of M.R.-C. ‘the puzzle’ was completed and, combining the aforementioned studies, we could conclude (more than 20 years ago) things like: (1) stomatal conductance is the best proxy for ‘water stress’ in studies on photosynthesis; (2) steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence retrieves photosynthesis under saturating light; (3) photoinhibition is not a major photosynthetic limitation under water stress; (4) mesophyll conductance instead is; and (5) mesophyll conductance is a major driver of leaf water use efficiency.

Nowadays, the use of food preservatives is controversial, SO2 being no exception. Microbial communities have been particularly studied during the prefermentary and fermentation stages in a context of without added SO2. However, microbial risks associated with SO2 reduction or absence, particularly during the wine aging process, have so far been little studied. The microbiological control of wine aging is a key issue for winemakers wishing to produce wines without added SO2. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of different wine aging strategies according to the addition or not of SO2 on the microbiological population levels and diversity.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from recently planted vines in Santa Catarina State (Brazil), were sampled during ripening from the 2005 and 2006 vintages.

Nei vini rosati, è il colore ad avere il primo impatto con il consumatore. Esso risulterà tanto più accattivante, quanto più elegante e raffinato si presenta.