Cover crop influence on water relations, yield, grape and wine composition of Pinot noir

It is important to quantify the effect of potential crop on vine water constraint in order to adapt vine-growing consulting and vine management to the Mediterranean climate conditions

Phenolic compounds are responsible for the most important red wine quality attributes. Anthocyanins and tannins play crucial roles in color and mouthfeel properties of red wines. Phenolic analysis in the winery is hindered by analytical constrains.

In the last few decades, minor vine genotypes traditionally cultivated on the Mount Etna slopes, have attracted the interest of both researchers and vine growers, as they offer an interesting oenological profile.

Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), mainly hydrogen sulfide and methanethiol (H2S and MeSH), are the responsible for reductive off-odor in wine.

The application of remote and proximal sensing in viticulture have been demonstrated as a fast and efficient method to monitor vegetative and physiological parameters of grapevines. The collection of these parameters could be highly valuable to derive information on associated yield and quality traits in the vineyard. However, to leverage the informative potential of the sensing systems, a series of preliminary evaluations should be carried out to standardize working protocols for the specific features of a winegrowing area (e.g., pedoclimate, topography, cultivar, training system). This work aims at evaluating remote and proximal sensing systems for their performance and suitability to provide information on the vegetative, physiological, yield and qualitative aspects of vines and grapes as a function of different training systems in the Valpolicella wine region (Verona, Italy).