Terroir and precision viticulture: are they compatible?

A new process for vacuum evaporation was developed where evaporation takes place near the inner surface of a vortex produced by a rotor submerged in the liquid. Contrary to the state of the art the Vortex rotor process does not need a vacuum vessel but the rotating liquid creates a geometrically stable low pressure void surrounded by a vortex stabilized by the equilibrium between centrifugal forces and the pressure difference. First tests with water and sugar solutions at concentrations similar to grape must were conducted to verify the theoretical predictions, test the performance under different conditions and study the effect of various process parameters (Rösti et al 2015).

Umami is defined as a pleasant and savory taste derived from glutamate, inosinate and guanylate, which are naturally present in meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. The term “kokumi” refers to a complex flavour sensation, characterized by thickness, fullness and continuity.

The wine industry generates each year 20 million tons of by-products. Among them grape pomaces represent a big part that can be considered as a source of potentially bioactive molecules such as polyphenols. Kombucha fermentation is an ancestral process which allow to increase the biological properties of tea by the action of a microbial consortium formed by yeasts and bacteria called scoby.

In recent years, the increase in temperature and the changes in rainfall distribution caused by climate change are affecting vine and grape physiology and are consequently impacting wine composition and quality (Schultz, 2000; Jones et al., 2005).

Grapevine leaf removal (LR) in the cluster area is typically done between fruit set and cluster closure to create an unfavorable microclimate for fungal diseases, such as Botrytis cinerea and powdery mildew. Grape growers are now turning their attention to pre-flowering LR, which has additional benefits under certain conditions. When applied before flowering, LR strongly affects fruit set and thus the number of berries per cluster. It is therefore a good yield control tool, replacing time-consuming manual cluster thinning (Poni et al. 2006). It also improves berry structure, that is, skin thickness, skin-to-pulp ratio, and berry composition (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and polyphenols) (Palliotti et al. 2012; Komm and Moyer 2015). By exacerbating competition for assimilates between reproductive and vegetative organs, pre-flowering LR also poses some risks. Excessive yield loss at the same year’s harvest due to a too low fruit set rate is the main concern: intensive pre-flowering LR (100% of the cluster area) can induce up to 50% yield loss in potted vines (Poni et al. 2005). Other parameters, such as cool climatic conditions during flowering, also affect fruit set rate and make it difficult to predict potential yield at harvest. Repeated and overly intensive preflowering LR can have repercussions over time and induce a decline in bud fruiting and plant vigor (Risco et al. 2014).