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The grape is one of the earliest domesticated fruit crops and, since antiquity, it has been widely cultivated and prized for its fruit and wine. Here, we characterize genome-wide patterns of genetic variation in over 1,000 samples of the domesticated grape, Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera, and its wild relative, V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris from the US Department of Agriculture grape germplasm collection. We find support for a Near East origin of vinifera and present evidence of introgression from local sylvestris as the grape moved into Europe. High levels of genetic diversity and rapid linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay have been maintained in vinifera, which is consistent with a weak domestication bottleneck followed by thousands of years of widespread vegetative propagation. The considerable genetic diversity within vinifera, however, is contained within a complex network of close pedigree relationships that has been generated by crosses among elite cultivars. We show that first-degree relationships are rare between wine and table grapes and among grapes from geographically distant regions. Our results suggest that although substantial genetic diversity has been maintained in the grape subsequent to domestication, there has been a limited exploration of this diversity. We propose that the adoption of vegetative propagation was a double-edged sword: Although it provided a benefit by ensuring true breeding cultivars, it also discouraged the generation of unique cultivars through crosses. The grape currently faces severe pathogen pressures, and the long-term sustainability of the grape and wine industries will rely on the exploitation of the grape's tremendous natural genetic diversity.

The aging of wines is a process used to preserve wine but also to enhance its properties. It is a process of great interest, mainly because of the additional properties it adds to wines and because of its economic implications. Historically, barrels have been employed for centuries for preserving and aging wine due to their resistance and relative impermeability. In general terms, the wine aging process can be divided into two phases: oxidative and reductive aging. Oxidative aging traditionally takes place in barrels while reductive phase occurs in the bottle. During both processes, oxygen plays a fundamental role as well as other factors, for instance: temperature, light, bottle position, microbial growth or storage time. Likewise, during the aging process, a series of chemical reactions take place influencing the composition and organoleptic profile of wine. At this point, oxidative aging in barrels is a fundamental step. Barrels are directly involved in the produced changes on wine’s composition due to the transference of oxygen and phenolic and aromatic compounds from wood to wine. This way, barrels act as an active vessel capable of releasing compounds that affect and improve wine’s characteristics. Regarding, the importance of barrels during aging process, some attention must be given to the species most used in cooperage. These species are conventionally oak species, either French or American. However, other non-conventional species are currently being studied as possible wood sources for the production of wines, such as chestnut robinia or other oak species. In the last decades, new approaches have been developed for barrel aging to find new alternatives more suitable, affordable and feasible to sanitize the process, such as other materials different from wood or the use of wood chips, which is regulated since 2006 by the EU. However, even though some of them have shown promising data, barrels are currently the most used technology for the oxidative stage of table wines aging.

Climate change is causing important shifts in the suitability of regions for wine production. Fine scale mapping of these shifts helps us to understand the evolution of vineyard climates, and to find solutions through viticultural adaptation. The aim of this study is to identify and map the structural and spatial shifts that occurred in the climatic suitability for wine production of the Cotnari wine growing region (Romania) between 1961 and 2013. Discontinuities in trends of temperature were identified, and the averages and trends of 13 climatic parameters for the 1961 to 1980 and 1981 to 2013 time periods were analysed. Using the averages of these climatic parameters, climate suitability for wine production was calculated at a resolution of 30 m and mapped for each time period, and the changes analysed. The results indicate shifts in the area’s historic climatic profile, due to an increase of heliothermal resources and precipitation constancy. The area’s climate suitability for wine production was modified by the loss of climate suitability for white table wines, sparkling wines and wine for distillates; shifts in suitability to higher altitudes by about 67 m, and a 48.6% decrease in the area suitable for quality white wines; and the occurrence of suitable climates for red wines at lower altitudes. The study showed that climate suitability for wine production has a multi-level spatial structure, with classes requiring a cooler climate being located at a higher altitude than those requiring a warmer climate. Climate change has therefore resulted in the shift of climate suitability classes for wine production to higher altitudes.

Background Grapevine ( Vitis vinifera L.) is the most important Mediterranean fruit crop, used to produce both wine and spirits as well as table grape and raisins. Wine and table grape cultivars represent two divergent germplasm pools with different origins and domestication history, as well as differential characteristics for berry size, cluster architecture and berry chemical profile, among others. ‘Sultanina’ plays a pivotal role in modern table grape breeding providing the main source of seedlessness. This cultivar is also one of the most planted for fresh consumption and raisins production. Given its importance, we sequenced it and implemented a novel strategy for the de novo assembly of its highly heterozygous genome. Results Our approach produced a draft genome of 466 Mb, recovering 82% of the genes present in the grapevine reference genome; in addition, we identified 240 novel genes. A large number of structural variants and SNPs were identified. Among them, 45 (21 SNPs and 24 INDELs) were experimentally confirmed in ‘Sultanina’ and six SNPs in other 23 table grape varieties. Transposable elements corresponded to ca. 80% of the repetitive sequences involved in structural variants and more than 2,000 genes were affected in their structure by these variants. Some of these genes are likely involved in embryo development, suggesting that they may contribute to seedlessness, a key trait for table grapes. Conclusions This work produced the first structural variants and SNPs catalog for grapevine, constituting a novel and very powerful tool for genomic studies in this key fruit crop, particularly useful to support marker assisted breeding in table grapes.

A nascent literature explores the impact of taste differences on trade. In gravity model estimations, the coefficient on geographic distance is large because it tends to capture such (usually unobservable) preference-related frictions. We examine this question in the context of French wine, that is, a cultural good characterized by a great variety of types (i.e. accommodating a large heterogeneity in wine tastes) and of quality levels (from cheap table wine to the finest grands crus). A series of gravity models are estimated using the universe of French bottled wine exports by detailed appellation between 1998 and 2015. We use genetic distance as a proxy for taste differences inherited from biology and culture. We show that this interpretation is not ruled out by other possible roles of genetic distance on trade (i.e., microgeography or nongustatory cultural dimensions such as trust). We find that genetic distance has an independent effect on trade, explaining between 20% and 40% of the coefficient on geographic distance. Dynamic estimates confirm this result and establish both the persistent and contemporaneous effects of genetic differences. A heterogeneous analysis also corroborates previous findings in the literature showing that high-tier goods tend to escape gravity. In addition, we find that premium wines escape the home bias associated with taste differences, possibly illustrating that luxury wines have become global iconic products purchased for status and investment motives rather than for gustatory pleasure.

Research on sparkling wine (SW) consumers, their market segmentation, and how they use purchase cues is relatively sparse compared to that for table wine, despite the substantial growth in sparkling wine in recent years. We address these gaps and particularly how the importance of SW purchase cues varies with wine involvement in an online survey of SW consumers from Ontario, Canada (n = 1011). Thirty intrinsic and extrinsic purchase cues were rated for importance (n = 609), and wine involvement was determined using the shortened version of the wine involvement scale. Overall, consumers rated (in descending order) price, flavour, quality, country, and sweetness level as the most important purchase cues, whereas several extrinsic factors, including bottle colour and shape, awards won, and vintage were of low importance. Females were 1.4 times more likely than males to cite target end use as the most important purchase cue. We further show that SW consumers can be segmented into three wine involvement categories (low, medium, high) which vary across multiple demographic, consumption, knowledge, and preference measures (n = 1003). Notably, the importance of six purchase cue categories (manufacture, price, endorsements, parentage, prestige/reputation, and place) varied with wine involvement (n = 609). These findings provide timely guidance for marketers and retailers seeking to align their products and communications with the needs and perceptions of SW consumers.

Background and Aims Mouthfeel attributes of white wine contribute to its style and therefore to the context in which it is most appropriately consumed. The effect of polysaccharides on the mouthfeel of white wine and their interaction with pH, ethanol and phenolic substances was determined. Methods and Results White wine polysaccharides and polysaccharide fractions, defined by molecular mass and composition, were added to either white or model white wine of variable pH and concentration of alcohol and phenolic substances to assess their effect on white wine taste and mouthfeel. A higher concentration of polysaccharides reduced perceived palate hotness. The effect of polysaccharides on mouthfeel and taste was independent of the concentration of phenolic substances. A medium molecular mass polysaccharide fraction of 13–93 kDa, containing arabinogalactan protein and mannoprotein reduced palate hotness and increased viscosity at higher pH. Conclusions Polysaccharides had a relatively small effect on mouthfeel and taste compared with the effect of wine pH and ethanol. Medium molecular mass polysaccharides were mostly responsible for the difference in perceived hotness and viscosity. Significance of the Study Palate hotness is a negative characteristic in white table wines. Winemaking practices that increase the concentration of arabinogalactan protein and low molecular mass mannoprotein could assist in masking palate hotness in white wine. Management of pH and alcohol can also be used to significantly influence the taste and mouthfeel in white wine.

Data for wines from the 2004–2014 vintages were collated from the database of analytical results of The Australian Wine Research Institute's Commercial Services Group and are reviewed in the context of historical trends in wine composition. Data for those 11 vintages were generated from 24 066 commercially bottled Australian table wines (8384 white and rosé wines, and 15 682 red wines), which were submitted to The Australian Wine Research Institute for analysis required to comply with the export/import requirements of destination countries. The wines include multiple vintages of a broad cross‐section of Australian wines from commodity to icon status, and producers of all sizes. The wines represent a broad geographical and cultivar spread, with the proportion of wines of each cultivar strongly correlating with the planted vineyard area. The data relate to the compositional variables: alcohol, glucose plus fructose, total dry extract excluding alcohol, sugar and volatile acidity (TDE), titratable acidity at pH 8.2, pH, free sulfur dioxide (SO₂), total SO₂, bound SO₂, and the ratio of free to total SO₂. Certain previously identified year‐on‐year trends have continued, and in some cases appear to have accelerated in the most recent vintages, particularly with increasing glucose plus fructose concentration and pH in red wines. In other cases, previously identified trends appear to have gone into reverse, notably the rise in alcohol concentration in red wines, and for a period, rising TDE in red wines, and one new trend in red wines is apparent, namely decreasing titrable acidity. There is some indication that new trends are also apparent with white and rosé wines, namely decreasing alcohol, increasing glucose plus fructose, increasing pH and an apparent downward shift in TDE, although ANOVA indicates little statistical significance in those trends. Data related to the concentration of SO₂ demonstrate upward trends in free SO₂ for white and rosé, and red wines. This has occurred with a concurrent decrease in the concentration of total SO₂ in red wines for the most recent vintages, leading to a consequent rise in the ratio of free to total SO₂. A rise in the ratio of free to total SO₂ is also seen in white and rosé wines due to increasing free SO₂ concentration. Overall white and rosé wines display fewer upward or downward trends compared with that of red wines, but greater year‐on‐year variability in the data.

Wine fractionation is an old practice widely applied for many reasons, including the production of food-grade alcohol and spirits, alcohol-reduced wines and beverages, functional products, and aromas. The purpose is the need to satisfy different lifestyles and legal constraints. The raw material, usually called industrial wine, includes wine overproduction and wine not used as such: mainly table wine, the fermented juice of unsold table grapes, and quality wine. Three technologies are currently in use: Vacuum distillation, Reverse osmosis in dialyzing mode, and the Spinning cone column. The process developed in this work results from the integration of a multistage reverse osmosis section operating in dialyzing mode, with the Atmospheric distillation of the permeate stream; the two most applied technologies for fractionating liquid mixtures. This process allows the fractionation of the wine into four products (the vegetation water, the azeotropic Ethanol, a concentrated aqueous solution of the solid extract, and a concentrated alcoholic solution of volatile aroma compounds) while preserving sensorial, nutritional and functional properties of the individual compounds. Then, the proper recombination of these products gives rise to a wide variety of wine-based products to meet the specifications of each market segment. The process is environmentally friendly and, in comparison with the competitors, is less energy-intensive, other than resilient and flexible regarding the production potentiality.

Background and AimsCell wall changes in ripening grapes (Vitis vinifera) have been shown to involve re-modelling of pectin, xyloglucan and cellulose networks. Newer experimental techniques, such as molecular probes specific for cell wall epitopes, have yet to be extensively used in grape studies. Limited general information is available on the cell wall properties that contribute to texture differences between wine and table grapes. This study evaluates whether profiling tools can detect cell wall changes in ripening grapes from commercial vineyards.MethodsStandard sugar analysis and infra-red spectroscopy were used to examine the ripening stages (green, véraison and ripe) in grapes collected from Cabernet Sauvignon and Crimson Seedless vineyards. Comprehensive microarray polymer profiling (CoMPP) analysis was performed on cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) and NaOH extracts of alcohol-insoluble residue sourced from each stage using sets of cell wall probes (mAbs and CBMs), and the datasets were analysed using multivariate software.Key ResultsThe datasets obtained confirmed previous studies on cell wall changes known to occur during grape ripening. Probes for homogalacturonan (e.g. LM19) were enriched in the CDTA fractions of Crimson Seedless relative to Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Probes for pectic-β-(1,4)-galactan (mAb LM5), extensin (mAb LM1) and arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs, mAb LM2) were strongly correlated with ripening. From green stage to véraison, a progressive reduction in pectic-β-(1,4)-galactan epitopes, present in both pectin-rich (CDTA) and hemicellulose-rich (NaOH) polymers, was observed. Ripening changes in AGP and extensin epitope abundance also were found during and after véraison.ConclusionsCombinations of cell wall probes are able to define distinct ripening phases in grapes. Pectic-β-(1,4)-galactan epitopes decreased in abundance from green stage to véraison berries. From véraison there was an increase in abundance of significant extensin and AGP epitopes, which correlates with cell expansion events. This study provides new ripening biomarkers and changes that can be placed in the context of grape berry development.