Grape ripening timing as a base for viticultural zoning: an agro-ecological approach

In recent years, the application of plant protection unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in agricultural pest control has become more and more popular. However, there are few reports about the application of plant protection UAV for wine grapes, and there are no studies comparing the spraying effect of plant protection UAV with that of manual operation in vineyards. In this context, the objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of using plant protection UAV in vineyards instead of manual operations by evaluating the effectiveness of UAV spray in two common grape training systems in Northeast China.

Oak barrels form an integral part of wine production, especially that of high quality wines. However, due to its porosity, wood presents an ecological niche for microbial proliferation and is highly susceptible to microbial spoilage which could cause considerable economic losses. Brettanomyces bruxellensis, the most commonly encountered microorganism responsible for spoilage during barrel ageing, can remain in barrels after barrel sanitation to contaminate new batches of wine after refilling. Therefore, effective sanitation treatments are of utmost importance to prevent recurring wine spoilage.

AIM Durello is a sparkling wine produced in the Lessini mountains near Verona. The wine is made from Durella grapes, a native white grape variety with a particularly high acidity. In spite of the small production area (375 ha for only 35 producers), there is a growing interest in this product. However, little is known about the aromatic profiles of these wines. The aim of this work was to characterize the aroma profile of Durella base wines suitable for the production of Lessini Durello sparkling wine. METHODS 14 base wines from Durella grapesfrom different producers were used for this study. Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) and Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) sampling techniques coupled to GC-MS analysis allowed to identify and quantify a total of 62 volatile compounds. RESULTS Durello base wines showed relatively high levels of vitispirane, ß-damascenone, ß-citronellol and esters.

Wine varietal aroma is the result of a mixture of compounds formed or liberated from specific grape-aroma precursors. Their liberation/formation from their specific precursors can occur spontaneously by acid catalyzed rearrangements or hydrolysis or by the action of the yeast enzymatic activities. The influence of yeast during fermentation on the production of these volatile compounds has been widely studied however, the effect of this influence during aging is not fully understood. In order to evaluate these processes several indirect strategies have been used to study aroma precursors although they are not useful to understand the chemistry of the process.

Marselan wines have an unusual high proportion of seed derived tannins from grapes having high proportions of skins, which are rich in tannins. But the causes behind this characteristic have not yet been identified. In vintage 2023 wines were made at experimental scale (9 kg by experimental unit) from Arinarnoa, Marselan and Tannat Vitis vinifera grape cultivars by traditional maceration, and by techniques aimed to increase the wine content in skin derived tannin: addition of extraction enzymes, addition at vatting of grape-skin enological tannins, or by extended maceration, known to increase the seed derived tannin contents of wines.