The use of viticultural and oenological performance of grapevines to identify terroirs: the example of Sauvignon blanc in Stellenbosch

The aim of this communication is the study of the Ronda and Arriate municipal territories environment in order to define and to establish the main physical factors in relation to vine-growing land use. The vine-growing zoning proposed is based on geopedological and climatic features.

Nel corso del 2009, in alcuni vigneti allevati ad alberata in provincia di Caserta (Italia), è stata avviata una ricerca per valutare la variabilità genetica della popolazione del vitigno ‘Asprinio’, la condizione sanitaria delle piante e le caratteristiche del vino sia rispetto alla forma di allevamento (alberata tradizionale e controspalliera) che all’altezza della fascia produttiva.

Grape Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch) ordinarily has great difficulty establishing leaf galls on the European Grapevine (VitisviniferaL.). Yet populations of leaf-feeding Phylloxera are increasingly being observed throughout commercial vineyards world-wide. Effective plant protection strategies including quarantine actions are currently missing to fight, grape phylloxera populations in affected vineyards and combat linked negative effects on vines and yield. Contrary to the otherwise mandatory continuous infestation pressure from externally established populations (e.g. from populations developed on rootstock foliage or other interspecific hybrids, these leaf-feeding populations seem to establish themselves annually.

Vegetative propagation of grapevines can generate spontaneous somatic variations, providing a valuable source for cultivar improvement. In this context, natural variation in the composition of phenolic compounds in grapevine berries and seeds stands as a pivotal factor in crafting wines with diverse oenological profiles from the same cultivar. To deepen on the understanding of the physiological and genetic mechanisms driving somatic variation in grape phenolics, here we characterized a somatic variant from Tempranillo Tinto, the clone VN21, that exhibits an intense reduced berry skin cuticle and increased extractability of phenolic compounds during wine fermentation.

The objective of the present work was to study the influence of the foliar application of seaweed (Laminaria japonica), on the bunch and on the must in the ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ grape. The experiment was carried out in the years 2021/2022, in a 21-year-old commercial vineyard, in the municipality of “Dom Pedrito” – “Rio Grande do Sul” (RS). A completely randomized experimental design was used, with 4 treatments and 4 replications (7 plants per replication). The treatments were: T1- control treatment; T2- Exal Powder 5 g L-1; T3- Hidro Exal 15 ml L-1; T4- Exal Powder 5 g L-1+ Hidro Exal 15 ml L-1.