Analysis of climatic changes in different areas of Abruzzo region (Central Italy): implications for grape growing

In the last years the application of genomic tools to the analysis of gene expression during grape berry development generated a huge amount of transcriptomic data

Wine biological aging is characterized by the development of yeast strains that form a biofilm on the wine surface after alcoholic fermentation. These yeasts, known as flor yeasts, form a velum that protects the wine from oxidation during aging. Thirty-nine velums aged from 1 to 6 years were sampled from “Vin jaune” from two different cellars. We show for the first time that these velums possess various aspects in term of color and surface aspects. Surprisingly, the heterogeneous velums are mostly composed of one species, S. cerevisiae. Scanning electron microscope observations of these velums revealed unprecedented biofilm structures and various yeast morphologies formed by the sole S. cerevisiae species.

A two years trial was carried out in Chianti (Central Italy) to assess at the detailed scale the viticultural and oenological suitability for Sangiovese of different pedoclimatic conditions, by means of the ΔC13 measured in the must sugars

In the last decades the growers of the Portuguese Dão winegrowing region (center of Portugal) are experiencing changes in climate that are influencing either grape phenology berry health and ripening. Aiming to study the relationships between climate indices (CI), seasonal weather and grapevine phenology, in this work long-term climate and phenological data collected at the experimental vineyard of the Portuguese Dão research centre between 1958 and 2019 (61 years) for the red variety Touriga Nacional, was analyzed. The trends over time for the classical temperature-based indices (Growing Season Temperature – GST -, Growing Degree Days – GDD, Huglin Index – HI and Cool Night Index – CI) presented a significantly positive slope while the Dryness Index (DI) showed a negative trend over the last 61 years. Regarding grapevine phenology, an average advance of 4.5 days per decade in the harvest day was observed throughout the last 61 years. Consequently, the weather conditions during the ripening period have changed, showing an increasing trend over time in the average temperature (higher magnitude in the maximum than in the minimum temperature) and a decrease in the accumulated rainfall. A regression analysis showed that ~50% of harvest date variability over years was explained by the temperature-based indices variability. These observed effects of climate change on bioclimatic indices and corresponding anticipation of harvest date can still be considered advantageous for the Dão terroir as it allows to achieve an optimal berry ripening before the common equinox rains and, therefore, avoid the potential negative impacts of the rainfall on berry health and composition.

An integrated terroir characterization is currently realized in the French northern vineyard: “Anjou”. The concept of Basic Terroir Unit (B.T.U.) and its associated ground model “Rock, Alteration, Alterite” are used in this characterization. This work is coupled to a viticultural survey, based on parcels.