Aging Behavior of Two Red Wines from the PIWI Pathogen-Resistant Grapevines ″Cabernet Eidos″ and ″Merlot Khorus″

Vitis vinifera grapevine plays an important role in the economy of many countries across the world. Its susceptibility to fungi diseases has forced a massive use of pesticides dangerous to the environment and hazardous to human health. As a consequence, there has recently been a shift toward a disease prevention approach based on the development of fungi-resistant grapevines obtained by the introgression of specific resistance genetic traits (PIWI varieties). Such varieties seem to have enough potential to produce high-quality wines, but little is currently available on their evolution over time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the aging behavior of two disease-resistant red wines (from ′′Cabernet Eidos′′ and ′′Merlot Khorus′′ varieties, respectively) in comparison with a red wine (obtained from the elite cultivars ′′Cabernet Sauvignon′′ and ′′Merlot′′) renowned for its longevity. The analyses were conducted soon after the wine production and again after a 2 year aging. The phenolic composition of the wines (anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols, and stilbenes) was quite different from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint. The amount of both tannins and flavans detected after 2 years was at least four times higher in the disease-resistant wines compared to the control wine. Additionally, the color intensity of the disease-resistant wines was at least twice that of the wine used as control even after a 24 month aging. The above results suggest a different aging behavior of the disease-resistant red wines and provide a fundamental background for viticulturists and enologists to better exploit the qualitative potential of disease-resistant cultivars.