Stomatal behaviour of three minority grapevine varieties grown in the La Mancha region (Spain)

In mid to late ripening, sugar and potassium (K+) accumulation into the berry slows and is eventually completed1. K+ is the most abundant cation in the berry, undertaking important physiological roles.

Aim: The notion of “terroir” enables the attribution of distinctive characteristics to wines from the same region. Climate change raises issues about viticulture, especially the growth of the vines and even more importantly the economic situation of actual wine-growing regions (Schultz and Jones 2010; Quénol 2014). Several studies have addressed the impacts of climate change on viticulture in

The evolution of wine quality issues is historically expressed by the passage from wine quality (what is a wine?) to wine quality (what is a good wine?). Perhaps the next question could be: what is a good sustainable wine? To contribute to reflection on this theme, it may be worthwhile to undertake an exercise in prospective fiction, which we have identified in the hypothesis of the AOD, the “appellation d’origine durable”, a scenario we will develop in the light of developments in the wine industry and the regulation on geographical indications.

Drought and heat waves deriving from climate change have been affecting grapevine plants and altering wine characteristics in the past years, and effects are expected to get worst. Innovative approaches to address this problem have been undertaken in several varieties, that consist in exploring intravarietal variability to identify genotypes that are tolerant to abiotic stress. Such is the case of the variety Arinto, where an experimental population of 165 clones installed according to a resolvable row-column design with 6 replicates, was scanned for several parameters, including surface leaf temperature (SLT). Linear mixed models were fitted to the data of the traits evaluated, and the empirical best linear unbiased predictors (EBLUPs) of genotypic effects for each trait were obtained as well as the coefficient of genotypic variation (CVG) and broad sense heritability.

The plasticity of grapevines in response to diverse growing conditions is influenced, among other factors, by the extent to which the roots explore the soil and the ability to accumulate and retrieve water and nutrients.
Newly planted grapevines, in particular, face challenges due to limited resources. The young plant’s ability for a fast and intensive penetration of the soil is vital in periods of water scarcity. The selection of an appropriate, site-specific rootstock significantly impacts both, the quality of the fruit produced and the economic success of the wine estate.