Effects of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on grape composition in Monastrell grapevines under semiarid conditions

This study analyses the actual situation regarding the legal protection of the vitivinicultural terroirs in Yamanashi Prefecture, the centre of Japanese wine industry with more than 150 years of wine-making tradition.

In this work, these four red varieties were characterized in terms of phenolic composition. Thus, the anthocyanin accumulation and the extractability evolution during ripening were compared.

Aim: Many processes or reactions that occur in plants involved isotopic discrimination. Water availability, for example, affects the isotopic ratio of carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O). In viticulture, δ13C is used in experiments related to water relations and irrigation in vineyards. δ18O is used much less but it could be a good complement to δ13C. The aim of this study was to generate knowledge on how these isotopic ratios, measured in musts, could help to better understand the water behavior of grape varieties. 

Wine aroma is a crucial quality criterion. A multitude of volatile compounds have been identified and correlated to the aroma attributes perceived in wine.

Under the pressure of global warming, several wine grape growing regions around the world are increasingly suffering from advanced and compressed phenology; endangering wine character while also creating serious logistic problems. From a physiological standpoint, the issue of delaying ripening is not simple as, in several instances, only a few processes must be delayed (i.e. sugar accumulation into the berries) while other events such as pigmentation and accumulation of other important phenolic compounds should proceed at a normal rate. Thus, the issue of decoupling technological maturity from phenolic maturity is another important consideration. Over the last decades, several research groups have endeavored to establish alternate cultural practices aimed at addressing this decoupling. In some cases, special applications of quite robust and well known practices regarding physiological principles have been utilized, however some completely new techniques are also being studied. In figure 1 of the review, we offer a panorama of the available tools and in the text we elaborate on those having provided most reliable and consistent results under an array of genotypes and environmental conditions. Among these, primary focus is given to post‐veraison—apical to the cluster—leaf removal (that can also be suitably replaced by applications of anti‐transpirants); the use of kaolin against multiple summers’ stresses; and a drastic version of late winter pruning having the potential to postpone ripening into a cooler period with improved grape composition and a limited negative impact on yield and storage reserves replenishment.