Geochemistry of Vrbničko Polje (Croatia) winegrowing site

Global climate change is exerting an influence on vine phenology, leading to a decoupling of technological and phenolic maturity of grapes. This results in the modification of berry chemical composition, which can translate into wines with excessive astringency. The addition of mannoproteins (MP) to wine has been proposed as a way of mitigating this problem, since some studies have shown that MPs can modulate wine astringency. However, the mechanism underlying the astringency modulation effect of MPs is not well known and it seems to be dependent on the compositional and structural characteristics of the MP.

Le mot “terroir” dérive du latin “terra”, mais déjà les Romains l’indiquaient comme “locus” ou”loci”, c’est-à-dire un lieu ayant le “genius”destiné à la production d’un produit d’excellente qualité.

Pulsed electric fields (pef) technology holds significant promise for the agrifood industry, considering the capacity of inducing cell electroporation, due to the disruption of cellular membranes. Pef-induced permeabilization is dependent of the chosen treatment protocol (i.e. Pulse shape, electrical field strength, specific energy) and of the matrix’s characteristics (i.e. Cell radii and size, ph, electrical conductivity).

Proximal sensors are becoming widely used in precision viticulture, due to the quick, easy and non-invasive identification of soil spatial variability. The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) is the main parameter measured by sensors, which is correlated to many factors, like soil water content, salinity, clay content and mineralogy, rock fragments, bulk density, and porosity.

In most viticultural regions, grapevines are cultivated grafted, employing either hybrid or pure species of various American Vitis spp., such as V. berlandieri, V. rupestris, and V. riparia, as grapevine rootstocks. These rootstocks play a crucial role in providing resistance to the Phylloxera insect pest. Beyond Phylloxera resistance, it is desirable for grapevine rootstocks to exhibit resistance to other soil-borne pathogens and adaptability to abiotic stress conditions. The introduction of new rootstocks holds promise for adapting agriculture to climate change without altering the characteristics of the final harvested product.