Fingerprinting as approach to unlock black box of taste

The aroma of wine is one of the most important determinants of quality as it strongly influences the consumer’s acceptance or rejection. Among the thousands of molecules comprising the wine aroma, sulfur-containing compounds can be considered as a “double-edged sword”: some of them, deriving from varietal precursors provide fruity pleasant aromas, while other ones, produced by yeast metabolism are related to “unpleasant” aromas

The yeast ecosystem in grape musts is quite broad and depends on the region and the health of the grapes. Within this, there are yeasts that can generate fermentative deviations and/or cause defects in the wine. It is very important to address this issue because there are significant economic losses in the wine industry when the fermentation process and/or the organoleptic characteristics of the wine are negatively affected, even more today since climate change has a marked effect on the composition of this ecosystem. The aim of this work is to characterize the behavior regarding detrimental oenological features of potential spoilage yeasts isolated from viticultural environments.

Among the different management techniques in Viticulture, which have
been developed with the purpose of optimizing the interception of sunlight, the photosynthetic capacity of
the plant and the microclimate of the clusters, especially in varieties that show excess vigor, the management of defoliation presents great importance. The defoliation consists of the removal of leaves that cover or that are in direct contact with the curls, which can cause physical damages in the berries, and aims to balance the relation between part area and number of fruits, providing the aeration and insolation in the interior of the vineyard, as well as reduce the incidence of rot in order to achieve greater efficiency in phytosanitary treatments and quality musts.

Downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) is a fungal pathogen that causes a destructive disease in grapevines (Vitis vinifera).

In wine producing regions around the world, climate change has the potential to decrease the frequency and amount of precipitation and increase average and extreme temperatures. This will lower soil water availability and increase evaporative demand, thereby increasing the frequency and intensity of water deficit experienced in vineyards. Among other things, grapevines manage water deficit by regulating stomatal closure. The dynamics of this regulation, however, have not been well characterized across the range of Vitis vinifera cultivars. Providing a method to understand how different cultivars regulate their stomata, and hence water use in response to changes in soil water deficits will help growers manage vineyards and select plant material to better meet quality and yield objectives in a changing climate.