Javier Portu

Improvement of grape and wine phenolic content by foliar application to grapevine of three different elicitors: Methyl jasmonate, chitosan, and yeast extract.

Phenolic compounds play a key role in grape and wine organoleptic properties, being therefore a key parameter in wine quality. Elicitor application constitutes an interesting field of research since it is indirectly involved in the accumulation of phenolic compounds. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the application of three different elicitors on both grape and wine phenolic content. Methyl jasmonate, chitosan, and a commercial yeast extract were applied to the canopy at veraison and one week later. Results showed that foliar treatments carried out with methyl jasmonate and yeast extract achieved the best results, increasing grape and wine anthocyanin content when compared to the control. Moreover, the application of the yeast elicitor also enhanced grape stilbene content. In contrast, the chitosan treatment did not have a substantial impact on the phenolic compounds. The results of this study indicate that methyl jasmonate and yeast extract applications could be a simple practice to increase grape and wine phenolic content.

Methyl Jasmonate Foliar Application to Tempranillo Vineyard Improved Grape and Wine Phenolic Content

The importance of phenolic compounds for grape and wine quality has drawn attention to studying different practices with the aim of increasing their content. Cluster application of elicitors is a viticultural practice that has shown promising results in recent years. However, cluster application requires a previous defoliation, which is time-consuming and expensive. In the present study, methyl jasmonate was foliar applied to Tempranillo grapevines in order to study its effect on grape and wine phenolic composition. Methyl jasmonate foliar application increased anthocyanin and stilbene content in both grape and wine, besides enhancing wine flavonol content. This treatment induced the synthesis of 3-O-glucosides of petunidin and peonidin and trans-p-coumaroyl derivatives of cyanidin and peonidin. For stilbenes, trans-piceid content was considerably increased in both grape and wine. The results obtained suggest that methyl jasmonate foliar application could be a simple and accessible practice to enhance grape and wine quality.

Changes on grape phenolic composition induced by grapevine foliar applications of phenylalanine and urea.

Grapevines may require the input of nitrogen to grow and to guarantee an appropriate grape composition. Recently there has been a growing interest in foliar fertilization, which entails a fast and efficient assimilation of the products. The aim of this work was to study the influence of foliar applications of phenylalanine and urea, at two different doses, on grape anthocyanins, flavonols, flavan-3-ols, phenolic acids, and stilbenes. All treatments were applied at veraison and one week later at doses of 0.9 and 1.5 kg N/ha. The results showed that the synthesis of phenolic compounds was favoured by foliar applications of phenylalanine and urea. The application of the lowest dose of urea was the most effective treatment, increasing the content of several anthocyanins and flavonols. Moreover, none of the foliar treatments worsened the grape phenolic composition. In conclusion, foliar application of phenylalanine and especially urea, could be an interesting management tool for improving grape quality and their health-promoting properties.

Phenylalanine and urea foliar applications to grapevine: effect on wine phenolic content.

Phenolic compounds play a key role in the organoleptic properties of wines. Viticultural practices may influence grape and wine phenolic content, thus determining their quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of foliar applications of phenylalanine and urea, at two different doses, on wine phenolic composition. Grapes were harvested at their optimal technological maturity and their respective wines were elaborated at small scale. Wine detailed phenolic composition was determined. Results revealed that the content of several anthocyanins and flavonols was enhanced by the application of both phenylalanine doses and by the application of the low dose of urea. In contrast, flavanols and non-flavonoid compounds were less affected by the foliar treatments. The findings seem to be related to the time of application, since anthocyanins and flavonols are accumulated after veraison. In conclusion, nitrogen foliar fertilization increased the phenolic content of Tempranillo wines. This could be of interest since anthocyanins and flavonols are associated with wine quality, especially with its color.

Molecular analysis of Oenococcus oeni and the relationships among and between commercial and autochthonous strains

The presence and distribution of genotypes from malolactic starter cultures between the autochthonous microbiota in fermenting Rioja wines have been studied in this paper. The commercial cultures characterization allowed to identify different species and common pulsed field gel electrophoresis and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA genotypes in several brands of Oenococcus oeni starter cultures. Four indistinguishable genotypes were found between the commercial and the autochthonous O. oeni strains. These four genotypes appeared during different vintages in seven of the 10 sampled wineries despite bacterial starter cultures had never been used. Therefore, the detection of commercial LAB genotypes indistinguishable from the autochthonous ones involved their removal from a selection process. These genotypes represented the 17.7% of autochthonous O. oeni isolated in this region during three consecutive years. This fact demonstrated that performing similar studies as previous selection criteria is advisable to avoid large work and the proposal of one commercialized bacteria.

Effect of methyl jasmonate application to grapevine leaves on grape amino acid content

Over the last few years, considerable attention has been paid to the application of elicitors to vineyard. However, research about the effect of elicitors on grape amino acid content is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of foliar application of methyl jasmonate on must amino acid content. Results revealed that total amino acid content was not modified by the application of methyl jasmonate. However, the individual content of certain amino acids was increased as consequence of methyl jasmonate foliar application, i.e., histidine, serine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, asparagine, methionine, and lysine. Among them, phenylalanine content was considerably increased; this amino acid is precursor of phenolic and aromatic compounds. In conclusion, foliar application of methyl jasmonate improved must nitrogen composition. This finding suggests that methyl jasmonate treatment might be conducive to obtain wines of higher quality since must amino acid composition could affect the wine volatile composition and the fermentation kinetics.

Foliar nitrogen application in Cabernet Sauvignon vines: Effects on wine flavonoid and amino acid content

Wine quality greatly depends on its chemical composition. Among the most important wine chemical compounds, flavonoids are the major contributors to wine organoleptic properties while amino acids have a huge impact on fermentation development and wine volatile profile. Likewise, nitrogen applications are known to have an impact on wine composition. Therefore, the aim of this work was to study the effects of foliar nitrogen applications on wine flavonoid and amino acid composition. The experiment involved five foliar nitrogen applications at veraison time: urea (Ur), urea plus sulphur (Ur+S), arginine (Arg), and two commercial fertilizers Nutrimyr Thiols (NT) and Basfoliar Algae (BA). The results showed that nitrogen foliar treatments decreased wine flavonoid content although the effect varied according to each treatment. This could be related to a low vine nitrogen requirement, since must yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) was above acceptable threshold values for all samples. With regard to wine amino acid content, all treatments except for Ur increased its values after the applications. Finally, foliar nitrogen treatments greatly influenced wine composition. Among them, urea seemed to exert the most negative effect on both phenolics and amino acids. In addition, an inverse relationship between wine amino acid content and flavonol concentration was exhibited.

Effect of Foliar Applications of Proline, Phenylalanine, Urea, and Commercial Nitrogen Fertilizers on Stilbene Concentrations in Tempranillo Musts and Wines

Resveratrol-enriched wine is considered a product with added value because of the numerous health-promoting properties of this compound. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of foliar nitrogen application on stilbene concentrations of Tempranillo musts and wines. The nitrogen sources applied were proline, phenylalanine, urea, and two commercial fertilizers, one with and one without amino acids. Grapevines were sprayed at veraison and one week later. There was a good correlation between stilbene concentrations in wine and must, and the concentrations were higher in wine. Treatment with urea favored resveratrol and piceid synthesis by increasing stilbene concentrations in must and wine. Wines from vines treated with phenylalanine had higher concentrations of trans-piceid compared to control wines. However, treatment with proline and commercial nitrogen fertilizers did not affect stilbene concentrations in must and wine samples. Our findings indicate that foliar application of phenylalanine and urea in vineyards could be used to stimulate stilbene synthesis and thus to obtain musts and wines with better health-promoting properties.

Microbial inactivation and MLF performances of Tempranillo Rioja wines treated with PEF after alcoholic fermentation

This study was performed with the aim of reducing the microbial communities of wines after alcoholic fermentation to improve the establishment of commercial Oenococcus oeni inoculum for developing the malolactic fermentation. Microbial community reduction was accomplished by applying Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology to four different wines. Overall, significant reductions in yeast population were observed. To a lesser extent, lactic acid bacteria were reduced while acetic acid bacteria were completely eliminated after the PEF treatment. In three out of the four tested wines, a decrease in the competitive pressure between microorganisms due to the detected reduction led to a general but slight shortening of the malolactic fermentation duration. In the wine with the most adverse conditions to commercial starter establishment, the shortest malolactic fermentation was reached after PEF treatment. Finally, the sensorial quality of three out of the four treated wines was considered better after the PEF treatment. Therefore, PEF technology meant an important tool for improving the malolactic fermentation performance.

Effects of a combination of elicitation and precursor feeding on grape amino acid composition through foliar applications to Garnacha vineyard

Vine foliar applications of phenylalanine (Phe) or methyl jasmonate (MeJ) could improve the synthesis of secondary metabolites. However, there are no reports focusing on the effects of elicitation supported by precursor feeding on must amino acid composition in grapevines. The aim of this research was to study the effect of the elicitation of methyl jasmonate (MeJ) supported by phenylalanine (Phe) as a precursor feeding (MeJ+Phe) and its application individually on must amino acid composition. Results showed that foliar Phe and MeJ treatments decreased the concentration of most of the studied amino acids with respect to the control (p≤0.05). MeJ+Phe treatment did not affect must nitrogen content. Musts obtained from MeJ+Phe showed higher concentration of several amino acids than samples from Phe and MeJ applications. Therefore, other sources of precursor feeding could support elicitation, to improve amino acid composition and be considered as a tool for viticulture.