Vine plant material: situation and prospect

AIM This work aims to investigate fluorescence spectroscopy as a tool to assess grape homogenates to discriminate between samples of varying maturities and to develop an index to objectively characterise the level of grape heterogeneity present in any given vineyard.

Phenolic compounds are very important in crop plants and have been the subject of a large number of studies. Three main reasons can be cited for optimizing the level of phenolic compounds in crop plants: their physiological role in plants, their technological significance for food processing, and their nutritional characteristics1 Indeed, an enormous diversity of phenolic antioxidants is found in fruits and vegetables, and their presence and roles can be affected or modified by several pre- and postharvest cultural practices and/or food processing technologies (Ruiz-García et al. 2012, Goldman et al. 1999, Tudela et al. 2002). In winegrapes, the technological importance of phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids, is well-known.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 75.866 km2 of the world is dedicated to grape cultivation. About 71.0% of the world’s grape production is destined for winemaking, 27.0% for consumption as fresh fruit and 2.0% as raisin. Grape production is mainly hindered by fungal infections, that can develop both in field and post-harvest.

Determining the age of a vineyard is essential for understanding its influence on wine quality and characteristics.

The main objective of the work was to develop a simple, robust and selective analytical tool that allows predicting the authenticity of Tempranillo wines from DOCa Rioja. The techniques of voltammetry and absorbance-transmission and fluorescence excitation emission matrix (A-TEEM) spectroscopy have been applied in combination with machine learning (ML) algorithms to classify red wines from DOCa Rioja according to region (Alavesa, Alta or Oriental) and category (young, crianza or reserva).