Vine field monitoring using high resolution remote sensing images: segmentation and characterization of rows of vines

The Rară Neagră 2.0 project aims to restore and safeguard the intra-varietal diversity of the ancient Eastern European grape variety Rară Neagră through polyclonal selection and the establishment of a certified genetic conservatory.

During red wine ageing or conservation, color and taste change and astringency tends to reduce. These changes result from reactions of flavan-3-ols and/or anthocyanins among which condensation reactions with acetaldehyde are particularly important. The full characterization of these reactions has not been fully achieved because of difficulties in extracting and separating the newly formed compounds directly from wine. Model solutions mimicking food products constitute a simplified medium for their exploration, allowing the detection of the newly formed compounds, their isolation, and their structure elucidation.

The creation of disease-resistant varieties adapted to climate change is a key challenge for the future of the wine industry. At present, the selection of these new varieties is essentially based on screening for genetic markers of resistance and agronomic criteria, due to the small number of vines available per genotype. Integrating screening for oenological criteria into the early stages of selection would speed up this process.

In 2001, the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development designated the Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing (FÖMI) to elaborate a Geographic Information System (GIS) supported Vineyard Register (VINGIS) in Hungary. The basis of this work was a qualification methodology (vineyard and wine cellar cadastre system) dating back to several decades, however, in the 1980s and 1990s the available geographical maps and information technology did not provide enough accuracy for an overall evaluation of viticultural areas. The reason for the VINGIS elaboration and development was an obligation resulting from the EU membership to ensure the agricultural subsidies for the wine–viticulture sector.

Wine aroma is a complex gaseous mixture composed of various compounds; some of these molecules derive directly from the grapes while most of them are released and synthetized during fermentation or are due to ageing reactions