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Wine production is a dynamic process that must be adapted to changes such as global warming and new consumer interests. Obtaining new cultivars by hybridization of traditional varieties is a promising approach with great potential to produce wines that are able to preserve regional typicity, together with adaptability to both evolving market preferences and distinct environmental scenarios. In this research, wines from twelve Graciano × Tempranillo selections were analyzed in two consecutive years. Sensory properties and quality were evaluated by a trained panel and a group of wine experts, respectively. Quality was positively correlated with anthocyanin and phenolic content (r = 0.8, r = 0.7, p < 0.01, respectively). Wines presented high sensory variability differing in eight attributes in each vintage. Two high quality selections, TG8 and TG63 consistently improved Tempranillo and Graciano specimens, presenting high color intensity, acidity, and positive aroma related to red fruit. Furthermore, TG129 a late-ripening genotype with high polyphenol content and fruity aroma, and other selections with roasted or dried fruit aroma notes appear as potential cultivars suitable to satisfy distinct consumer demands in the context of global warming., Financial support from Viveros Provedo and ADER 2017_IDD_I_00041 is gratefully acknowledged. CM-M was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) grant BES-2015-073773.

The increase in vineyard cultivation for the production of grapes or wine is producing a considerable reduction in soil quality. This is a consequence of management practices principally based on frequent tillage and use of herbicides. This type of management disrupts fungal communities which can lead to a reduction in crop production along with an increase in diseases caused by microorganisms that habitually coexist harmlessly in the soil. The objective of this research was the evaluation of the effect of soil management practices and environmental conditions on the soil fungal communities throughout the year in vineyard. For this, the diversity of the fungal communities in soils with different agricultural practices were evaluated. The samplings were carried out in two vineyards, the first was subjected to manage based on tillage where tillage in the alleys and pesticide treatments in the rows were done. The second was managed without tillage allowing colonialization of spontaneous vegetation in the alleys; the rows, as in the other vineyard, which were treated with herbicides. The soil samples were taken every season coinciding with the key growth stages of the vineyard. The samples were processed using the traditional in vitro method. More than 193 different fungal taxa were found; of them 18% were presented in higher abundance than 1% of the total. The majority of these were generalists; however, there were differences in the relative abundance based on the soil treatment (Tr, Ta, NTr, NTa), season and weather. The fungal communities were formed by more than 60% of generalist taxa; the genus Aspergillus was the most frequent. Ten percent of the total taxa were specific to concrete environmental conditions (season and weather) and soil treatment; Penicillium and Trichoderma were the most frequent. The factor most predictive of the composition of communities was attributed to the season in which the soil samples were collected. In terms of soil management, 27% of taxa were specific of management. Significant differences in the fungal compositions of the communities were found. The fungal communities from soils treated with chemical pesticides (rows) contained a substantial number of specific taxa, being 23% of total. These results show that seasonal dynamics of fungal populations in productive vineyards are sensitive to changes caused by soil treatment., This research was supported bythe LIFE programme of the European Commission for the Environment. Project “Demonstration of biodiversity in vitivinicultural landscapes” (BioDiVine) (LIFE09 NAT / FR / 000584)

Trabajo presentado en el 10th In Vino Analytica Scientia Symposium, celebrado en Salamanca (España), del 17 al 20 de julio de 2017

[Background] Flavan‐3‐ol compounds are important secondary metabolites which show high antioxidant activity and are responsible for bitterness and astringency of food products. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential for selecting grape materials with higher seed flavanol content from a breeding population. The composition and content of flavan‐3‐ols from 151 genotypes obtained from crossing wine grape varieties was evaluated by UPLC in three consecutive years. [Results] Chromatograms of flavan‐3‐ol compounds showed the same 12 compounds for all samples, but quantitative differences were observed between genotypes as well as parental varieties. The most abundant compounds were (−)‐epicatechin and (+)‐catechin followed by proanthocyanidins A2 and B2. Progeny showed higher values than the parental genotypes for every detected compound indicating directional transgressive segregation. With these results genotypes with as much as five times more flavanols than their parents could be identified. The year effect was significant; however, high correlations between years for each compound indicated that there is a strong genetic component in the determination of flavanol content. [Conclusion] Higher contents of seed flavan‐3‐ols can be obtained by hybridisation, and those genotypes could be used for extracting healthy phytochemicals, adding value to seeds as a sub‐product in wine elaboration, This work was funded by the Government of La Rioja through the FOMENTA 04/08 research project. We also thank the Instituto de Estudios Riojanos for its financial support. Shiren Song was awarded a MAE‐AECID fellowship for 3 years. We are grateful to Viveros Provedo for grapevine management and assistance in collecting berry samples. We thank the collaboration of Isidoro Laguna, Gustavo Escudero and Aleceia Bermejo for their technical assistance with seed extraction.

Trabajo presentado en el X Congreso Nacional de Entomología Aplicada y XVI Jornadas Científicas de la Sociedad Española de Entomología Aplicada (SEEA), celebrado en Logroño (España), del 16 al 20 de octubre de 2017

Póster presentado en el X International Symposium on Grapevine Physiology and Biotechnology, celebrado en Verona del 13 al 18 de junio de 2016.

Póster presentado a las II Jornadas del Grupo de Viticultura y Enología (SECH), celebradas en Madrid el 3 y 4 de noviembre de 2016., Una de las enfermedades más importantes del viñedo es la provocada por el hongo Erysiphe necator, que causa graves daños en las cosechas y en la calidad de los vinos resultantes. El control tradicional se basa en gran medida en la aplicación frecuente de productos químicos como el azufre y fungicidas sistémicos. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de resistencias a estos productos, y la demanda de uvas libres de residuos, ofrece incentivos para buscar estrategias que permitan reducir al mínimo esta dependencia. Para conseguir el desarrollo de programas que permitan un manejo sostenible de esta enfermedad se necesita disponer del conocimiento biológico suficiente sobre esta especie. y de como interacciona con su huésped. El objetivo de este trabajo fue caracterizar la diversidad fenotípica de poblaciones naturales de oídio presentes en La Rioja. Las muestras se recogieron en diversas zonas, incluyendo distintos hábitats, sistemas de cultivo y variedades. El estudio fenotípico se hizo con el microscopio óptico y se determinaron las principales características morfológicas de la fase asexual: tamaño y forma de los conidióforos y conidias y diámetro de las hifas. Los resultados mostraron diferencias entre las poblaciones en varias de las variables evaluadas. El tamaño de las hifas y la longitud de las conidias fueron constantes en las 4 poblaciones. La población procedente de la Grajera fue la mas singular, con esporas y esporangióforos más pequeños. Esta población procedía de un viñedo con un sistema de manejo ecológico. Estos resultados forman parte de un proyecto relacionado con la caracterización genética y fenotípica de poblaciones de E. necator que puedan permitir establecer un mapa de la incidencia de la enfermedad en La Rioja., Este trabajo ha sido posible gracias al apoyo económico del Instituto de Estudios Riojanos (IER).

Trabajo presentado en las I Jornadas del Grupo de Viticultura y Enología de la SECH (Sociedad Española de Ciencias Hortícolas), "Retos Actuales de la I+D en Viticultura", celebradas en Logroño el 19 y 20 de noviembre de 2014.

The main objective of this research was the evaluation of the variability present in a segregating wine grape population derived from a cross between Graciano × Tempranillo, two Spanish varieties, in order to select improved genotypes with potential for producing high-quality wines in a climate change scenario. For that purpose, the phenotypic segregation of 16 agronomic traits related to production and phenology and 11 enological traits related to technical and phenolic maturity was studied in the progeny for three consecutive years. All traits presented transgressive segregation and continuous variation. Year effect was significant for all traits except total, extractable and skin anthocyanins content. However, a high level of genotype consistency for enological traits was revealed by repeatabilities and correlations between years. Significant correlations among traits were observed but most associations were weak. Furthermore, the CAPS (Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequence) marker for the VvmybA genotype was tested to determine whether it would be useful in indirect selection for berry anthocyanins content. The results showed that the number of homozygous and heterozygous genotypes for the functional colour allele adjusted to a 1:1 segregation ratio, and that homozygous genotypes had significantly higher anthocyanins content. Principal component analysis found eight variables that contributed up to 80 % of the phenotypic variability present in the population. Seven groups of hybrids were distinguished based on ripening time, cluster weight, berry weight and anthocyanins content by cluster analysis; and fourteen genotypes were pre-selected for further research. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht., This research was funded by the Government of La Rioja through the FOMENTA 04/2008 research project. Shiren Song was initially supported by a fellowship from the Chinese Research Council and for the last 3 years by a MAE-AECID fellowship from the Spanish Government.