The grapevine single-berry clock, practical tools and outcomes 

Hillslope vineyards show various and complex water dynamics between soil and plants, and in order to gain further insight into this phenomenon, 8 grapevine plots were monitored during three vintages, from 2010 to 2013, on Corton Hill, Burgundy, France.

In Valtellina zone (north Italy), the winemaking of ‘Nebbiolo’ grapes leads to the production of two main wine types: classic red wines from fresh grapes, usually classified as Valtellina Superiore DOCG (mandatory oak aging) or Rosso di Valtellina DOC, and the Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG, which is produced using withered grapes according to traditional product specification and subjected to mandatory oak aging process. The withering process influences grape chemical composition and, in turn, the wine sensory profile, which is strongly linked to the wine quality and typicity perceived by consumers.

The phenolic compounds (cathechins, cynnamic acids, anthocyanidins) in wines made from 6 vine-varieties (Sangiovese, Cabernet S., Nero d’Avola, Foglia Tonda, Pinot N., Mazzese) grown in 4 different pedoclimatic zones of Tuscany (Arezzo, Grosseto, Pisa and Lucca) have been analyzed by HPLC.

Monferace project is born from an idea of 12 winegrowers willing to create a new “old style” Grignolino wine and inspired byancient winemaking techniques of this variety (1). Monferace wine is produced with 100% Grignolino grapes after 40 months of ageing, of which 24 in wooden barrels of different volumes. Grignolino is an autochthonous Italian variety cultivated in Piedmont (north-west Italy), recently indicated as a “nephew” of the famous Nebbiolo (2) and is used to produce three different DOC wines. The Monferace Grignolino is cultivated in the geographical area identified in the Aleramic Monferrato, defined by the Po and Tanaro rivers, in the heart of Piedmont and the produced wine is characterized by a high content of tannins, marked when young, that evolve over the years. Its color is generally slight ruby red and garnet red with orange highlights with ageing.

Considerable advances have been made in the chemical characterization of wine metabolites through its holistic study using both targeted and untargeted metabolomics approach. The metabolite pool is subject to an intense molecular dialogue which reinforces the wine complexity even after bottling.