Effect of soil type on Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet-Sauvignon wine style at different localities in South Africa

This study evaluates the effect of different oenological factors and natural mediators on the degradation of Ochratoxin A (OTA) using Botrytis cinerea laccase.

A statistical model of sugar potential for Mourvèdre grapevine cultivar has been obtained using a group of 32 plots all around de south-east french mediterranean area.

Micro(mi)RNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate several pathways and are widely recognised as key players in plant development, tissue differentiation, and many other important physiological processes, including plant adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses. The release of plant genomes and the application of high throughput sequencing have considerably extended miRNA discovery across many species, including grapevine (Vitis spp.). Despite their relevance in plant development, functional studies in grapevine to clarify the function of miRNAs are not yet available. Through the grapevine genetic improvement platform IMPROVIT at CNR-IPSP (http://www.ipsp.cnr.it/en/thematics/turin-headquarter-thematics/improvit/), we developed integrated approaches to discover miRNA function in grapevine.

Oak wood selection and maturation are essential steps in the course of barrel fabrication. Given the existence of many factors involved in the choice of raw material and in natural seasoning of oak wood, it is very difficult to determine the real impact of seasoning and selection factors on oak wood composition. A sampling was done to study the evolution of oak wood chemical composition during four seasoning steps: non matured, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months. For this sampling, three selection factors were taken into account: age, grain type and the Polyphenolic Index measured by Oakscan®. Besides extractables
(~10%), three polymers constitute the main part of oak wood: cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignins.

Root architecture (RSA), the spatial-temporal arrangement of a root system in soil, is essential for edaphic resources acquisition by the plant, and thus contributes largely to its productivity and adaptation to environmental stresses, particularly soil water deficit. In grafted grapevine, while the degree of drought tolerance induced by the rootstock has been well documented in the vineyard, information about the underlying physiological processes, particularly at the root level, is scarce, due to the inherent difficulties in observing large root systems in situ. The aims of this study were (i) to determine the phenotypic differences in traits related to root distribution and morphology along the substrate profile in different Vitis rootstocks during early growth, (ii) to assess the plasticity of these traits to soil water deficit and (iii) to quantify their relationships with plant water uptake.