Sensory quality of wines as a trait in MAS grape vine breeding – sensory insights from multiple vintages in a F1 breeding population

Abstract

In the context of the three global crises of global warming, loss of biodiversity and environmental pollution, current agricultural practices need to be reconsidered [1]. Viticulture in particular can contribute to this by optimising plant protection [2]. Grapevine breeding addresses this issue by producing new grape varieties with resistance to pests, thereby reducing the use of plant protection products and their impact on biodiversity and environmental pollution. Since the resulting product wine is a traditional product with established sensory wine styles, the acceptance of new grape varieties strongly depends on its sensory quality. To make the breeding process more efficient in terms of market acceptance of these new wines, the sensory quality trait of wine should be considered in marker-assisted selection (MAS) [3]. In the current multidisciplinary project, two identical segregating F1 populations of ‘Calardis Musqué’ x ‘Villard Blanc’ crosses, comprising a total of 150 selected individual genotypes and two geographical locations, were characterised by a high-density genetic map using a ‘genotyping by sequencing’ approach [4]. Around 1,300 individual wines were vinified over eight vintages and comprehensively characterised using sensory analyses. For this purpose, we combined elements from the evaluation scheme of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) [5] with an intensity evaluation of selected aroma and flavour attributes. This scheme not only allowed the assessment of a large number of wines, but also provided comparable results over the years with a strong sensory differentiation of the sensory characteristics and their qualitative evaluation. A predictive model was developed using descriptive and qualitative results of wines from one geographical location to predict the quality classification of wines from a second geographical location. The analysis revealed that the vintage effect accounted for a significant proportion of misclassified wines. The findings underline the necessity for multiple vintages and a robust sensory evaluation methodology to ensure the incorporation of sensory quality in a MAS-based breeding programme.

References

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[2] Fouillet, E., Delière, L., Chartier, N., Munier-Jolain, N., Cortel, S., Rapidel, B., & Merot, A. (2022). Reducing pesticide use in vineyards. Evidence from the analysis of the French DEPHY network. European Journal of Agronomy, 136, 126503.

[3] Töpfer, R., & Trapp, O. (2022). A cool climate perspective on grapevine breeding: climate change and sustainability are driving forces for changing varieties in a traditional market. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 135(11), 3947-3960.

[4] Frenzke L, Röckel F, Wenke T, Schwander F, Grützmann K, Naumann J, Zakrzewski F, Heinekamp T, Maglione M, Wenke A, Kögler A, Zyprian E, Dahl A, Förster F, Töpfer R, Wanke S. (2024). Genotyping-by-sequencing-based high-resolution mapping reveals a single candidate gene for the grapevine veraison locus Ver1. Plant Physiology, kiae272.

[5] International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), Review document on sensory analysis of wine, 2015, https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/3307/review-on-sensory-analysis-of-wine.