Influence of the year and the environmental factors on condensed tannins from Cabernet franc grapes

Although there are detailed studies on the microbiota of Vitis vinifera L. grapes, little is known about the diversity of yeast communities present in non-vinifera Vitis ecosystems (i.e., grapes and spontaneously fermenting grape musts). Potentially scientific and/or enological valuable yeast strains from these non-vinifera Vitis ecosystems might never be isolated from V. vinifera L. Using a standard culture-dependent strategy, we studied the population of yeast species during initial stages of spontaneous fermentation of V. labrusca L. (Isabella) grape musts. Rare non-Saccharomyces yeast species were recognized in Isabella, including Candida azymoides, Pichia cecembensis, Candida californica, Candida bentonensis, Issatchenkia hanoiensis and Candida apicola.

The vineyard has experienced a general increase in yields mainly due to the elevated use of technology which caused a quality loss of grapes in more than one case. A large percentage of the Spanish vineyard is covered by a Denomination of Origin which limits the productive level of the vineyards as one of its regulations. The maximum production limit is a variable characteristic of each vineyard and is not usually regulated by agronomic criteria, and this explains the fact that each vineyard can reach high quality with a totally different yield from that set by the Denomination of Origin.

Global warming is one of the biggest environmental, social and economic threats in several viticultural regions. In the Douro Valley, changes are expected in the coming years, namely an increase in temperature and a decrease in precipitation. These changes are likely to have consequences for the production and quality of wine.

The indigenous Greek grape varieties Assyrtiko, Malagousia, Moschofilero and Roditis are used to produce white wines that are attracting the interest of wine producers and consumers due to their aromatic characteristics [1]. In addition, the Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro varieties are Greece’s most prominent red grape varieties.

In recent years several strategies have been proposed to cope with the effect of climate change on grape berry quality but only a few studies have dealt with the influence of management practices implemented in the field (e.g. irrigation,summer pruning, etc.), on the evolution of wines over time.