Rootstock and harvest season affect the chemical composition and sensory analysis of grapes and wines of the Alicante Bouschet (<i>Vitis vinifera</i> L.) grown in a tropical semi-arid climate in Brazil

Abstract

Aim: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the composition of grapes and wines of the Alicante Bouschet variety from a tropical semi-arid area in Brazil, by studying two rootstocks and harvests in different semesters (climates) of the same year.Methods, Results: Vines of Vitis vinifera L., Alicante Bouschet, a teinturier variety, were grown in a tropical semi-arid climate in Brazil. The phenolic composition of the grapes and wines was measured to assess how they had been affected by two rootstocks (IAC 572 and 1103P) and two harvest seasons, Semester 1 and Semester 2 (in this region, a grapevine produces two harvests per year, with an intra-annual climate variability). The grapes and wines were subjected to the usual physicochemical analyses, as well as to spectrophotometric and chromatographic analyses. Sensory analysis was carried out by professional tasters. The results show that there is a rootstock effect and a harvest season effect for several parameters on grape composition, as well as on the resulting wines. The grapes from vines grafted onto IAC 572 rootstock contained higher titratable acidity, tartaric acid, malic acid, total anthocyanins, total proanthocyanidins in skins and seeds and polymeric tannins in skins. The grapes from vines grafted onto 1103P rootstock contained higher concentrations of total phenols and non-flavonoids, total monomeric anthocyanins, monomeric and polymeric tannins in the seeds. The second semester wines were higher in total anthocyanins, total phenols, flavonoids and non-flavonoids, condensed tannins and low molecular weight flavanols, astringency potential, colour intensity, titratable acidity, total dry extract and alcohol content.Conclusions: The results demonstrate an influence of rootstock and harvest season (semester/climate) on grape and wine composition. Some of the grape and wine phenolic compounds analysed individually (some monomeric anthocyanins and low molecular weight flavanols) were higher in the first semester than in the second. The overall phenolic parameters determined in grapes and wines from the second semester were higher than those from the first. According to the sensory analyses, the semester (climate) effect was stronger than the rootstock effect, and the wines from the second semester received the highest scoring than those from the first semester, mainly for olfactory and gustatory attributes.Significance and impact of the study: This study uses a holistic methodology, mainly with respect to the phenolic compounds, to examine the combined effects of rootstocks and intra-annual climate variability on grape and wine composition. The results of this study may contribute to future research, as well as help the producers and wine companies of tropical regions to tailor viticultural and oenological parameters, in order to improve the quality and typicality of the products.

The combined influence of rootstock and vintage climate on the grape and wine flavonoids of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon in eastern China

“…This demonstrated that a stressful environment with less light and more rain increased the effect of rootstocks on berry anthocyanin concentrations and the proper use of rootstock was significant for the scion to adapt to the stressful survival environment. Oliveira et al (2020) used IAC 572 and 1103P to graft Alicante Bouschet, and it was found that rootstock and year had a synergy effect, and year had a greater effect on flavonoid compound concentrations. A similar discovery was made on Syrah.…”

“…These studies showed that rootstocks did affect the flavonoid concentration of wines, but that rootstocks did not have a consistent effect on the flavonoid content of scions. This difference might be attributed to differences in the environment, cultural practices and scion ( Oliveira et al, 2020 ). In our study, 1103P reduced the anthocyanin concentrations in wines, while 5A did not significantly affect the anthocyanin concentration of wine, consistent with the trend in grapes, suggesting that rootstocks could indeed affect anthocyanin concentrations in wine by altering anthocyanin concentrations in grapes.…”

Influence of varying rootstocks on bio-chemical properties and sensory characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon wine produced under subtropical climate

“…The rootstocks used in this experiment have a certain genetic diversity and can therefore influence several physiological and biochemical grapevine aspects, which could have a reflection on wine composition and quality. Indeed, results of studies have shown effect of rootstocks on the grapevine physiology, biochemistry, wine biochemical profile, wine quality and wine sensory characteristics (Somkuwar et [36,25,26,29] .…”

Phenology, bunch morphology and must quality of five grapevine hybrids grafted onto two rootstocks

“…However, the rootstocks did not influence must from the other hybrids studied. The rootstock effect is more significant in terms of phenolic compounds on must since grapes from grapevines grafted onto 'IAC 572 Jales' showed higher concentrations of tartaric and malic acids, while those grafted onto '1103P' presented high levels of total phenols and nonflavonoids (Oliveira et al 2020). Hybrids with the highest bunch size showed a higher fruit maturation index because of low acidity in the must.…”

“…A variety of rootstocks are available for grapevine use, and they are adapted for different edaphoclimatic conditions (Delrot et al 2020;Jin et al 2016;Troncoso et al 1999). The IAC has also developed new rootstocks, which exhibit high vegetative vigor and adaptability to acidity soil and they have shown high resistance to phylloxera and nematodes (Oliveira et al 2020). The most used rootstocks in the subtropical region of Brazil are 'IAC 766 Campinas' and 'IAC 572 Jales' (Mattar et al 2019).…”