Main viticultural soils in Castilla – La Mancha (Spain)

In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for non-alcoholic wine with an ethanol content of less than 0.5% v/v. The dealcoholization process can take place by various methods, such as vacuum distillation or membrane technologies like osmotic distillation. Compared to distillation, membrane systems often require multiple passes or a combination of multiple separation methods. Complete or almost complete removal of ethanol significantly changes the sensory characteristics of wine.

Light-struck taste (LST) is a wine fault that can occur in white and sparkling wines when exposed to light. This defect is mainly associated to the formation of methanethiol and dimethyl disulfide due to light-induced reactions involving riboflavin (RF) and methionine [1]. The presence of RF in wine is mainly due to the metabolism of yeast [2] which fermenting activity can be favoured by using yeast derivative products (YDPs) as nutrients. Nonetheless, a previous study showed the addition of YDPs before the alcoholic fermentation (AF) led to higher concentrations of RF in wines [3]. Due to the widespread use of YDPs in the winemaking process, this study aimed to understand the possible relation between the content of RF in wine and the YDP adopted as nutrient for AF.

One of the intrinsic parts of a vineyard “terroir” is soil type and one of the characteristics of the soil is it’s colour. This can differ widely from bright white, as for some calcareous soils, to red, as in “terra rossa” soils, or black, as in slate soils.

Assyrtiko is a rare ancient grape variety that constitutes one of the most popular in Greece. The objective of the current research was to evaluate indigenous Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates as fermentation starters and also test the possible strain impact on volatile profile of Assyrtiko wine. 163 S. cerevisiae isolates, which were previously selected from spontaneous alcoholic fermentation, were identified at strain level by interdelta-PCR genomic fingerprinting. Yeasts strains were examined for their fermentative capacity in laboratory scale fermentation on pasteurized Assyrtiko grape must.

Grapevine powdery mildew resistance is a key target for grape breeders and grape growers worldwide. The driver of the USDA-NIFA-SCRI VitisGen3 project is completing the pipeline from germplasm identification to QTL to candidate gene characterization to new cultivars to vineyards to consumers. This is a common thread across such projects internationally. We will discuss how our objectives and approaches leverage big data to advance this initiative, starting with genomics and computer vision phenotyping for gene discovery and genetic improvement. To manage and maintain resistances for long-term sustainability, growers will be trained through our nation-wide extension and outreach plan.