VITOUR – The European World Heritage Vineyards

The undergoing global warming scenario is affecting grapevines phenology, including the timing of berry ripening and harvest date, negatively impacting production and quality. This work reports the crucial role of NAC61, a grapevine NAC transcription factor, in regulating metabolic processes occurring from the onset of ripening onwards. NAC61 high confidence targets mainly represent genes acting on stilbene biosynthesis and regulation, and in osmotic and oxidative/biotic stress-related responses. The direct regulation of the stilbene synthase regulator MYB14, the osmotic stress-related gene DHN1b, and the Botrytis cinerea susceptibility gene WRKY52, were all further validated.

The work was aimed at comparing some analytical methods used to characterize oenological tannins and the measure of oxygen consumption rate (OCR), in order to provide oenologists with a rapid method to test the antioxidant capacity of tannin based products and a tool to choose the best suited product for each purpose.

Glutathione-rich inactivated dry yeasts (GSH-IDY) are claimed to accumulate intracellularly and then release glutathione in the must.

The wine industry is increasing the demand for indigenous yeasts adapted to the terroir to produce unique wines that reflect the distinctive characteristics of each region. In our group, we have identified and characterized 60 native yeast strains isolated from a vineyard in Maldonado-Uruguay, in which three strains stood out: Saccharomyces cerevisiae T193FS, Saturnispora diversa T191FS, and Starmerella bacillaris T193MS. Their oenological potential was evaluated at a semi-pilot scale in Tannat must vinification in the wine cellar to have a more precise and representative evaluation of the final product.

The weather anomalies comparing the 1971-2000 time frame and the last years has showned a dramatic scenario when, in some months, average temperature in above 3ºC and the reduction in precipitation in more than 30%.