The aim of this work was to analyze and compare the concentration of higher alcohols, esters, and acids in wines from Tempranillo and Tempranillo Blanco. Tempranillo Blanco is a new and little-studied white variety that originated from Tempranillo by a natural mutation. During three seasons, grapevines of both varieties were harvested, and nine wines were made from each. The volatile composition of the wines was determined by GC-MS. In the wines of both varieties, the content of higher alcohols was higher than those of esters and acids. Wines from Tempranillo Blanco had lower content of 2-phenylethanol, methionol, 1-hexanol, benzyl alcohol, and total higher alcohols, but higher hexyl acetate and ethyl decanoate than Tempranillo wines. Total ethyl esters and total esters were higher in Tempranillo wines due to the higher ethyl lactate and ethyl succinate content derivate from the malolactic fermentation that was not made in Tempranillo Blanco. The content of hexanoic and octanoic acids and total acids was also higher in Tempranillo Blanco wines than in Tempranillo. This is one of the first studies carried out on the wine volatile composition of Tempranillo Blanco and therefore contributes to a better understanding of the oenological characteristics of this white variety.
Background: There are thousands of grapevine varieties that display a wide range of variation for traits like grape use (wine, table grape or both), color or ripening time, but little is known about their reproductive performance, especially flowering and fruitset (conversion from flower to fruit). Works focused at the study of these traits in grapevine evaluated one or few varieties and used different methodologies making comparisons difficult. This study aimed to characterize the reproductive performance of 120 varieties and its stability over two seasons using a precise methodology. Methods: Reproductive performance was determined through counting flowers and berries in the same inflorescences/bunches (10 per variety), for which a new methodology of image analysis of scanned calyptras was developed. Varieties were classified according to their reproductive performance. Results: A great diversity was found for most variables including fruitset and number of flowers. Large differences between varieties were observed both in values and in stability among seasons. The varieties clustered in three main classes that displayed significant differences not only for the reproductive performance variables used for the clustering but for most the variables studied. Varieties in these classes showed a non-random distribution regarding the grape use and the genetic structure based on molecular markers. Conclusions: This is the largest study of reproductive performance variables such as fruitset ever done in grapevine. It provides specific values for many varieties for the first time, useful for breeding programs. The clustering based on these variables is related with those based on use and geographical origin.
'Tempranillo Tinto' is one of the most relevant grapevine cultivars worldwide. Despite its early ripening and relatively short vegetative cycle, which may not be ideal for high-quality grape and wine production in warming conditions, its long-standing cultivation has led to an intense multiplication by cuttings, which originated the high level of clonal variation currently available. Now, this intra-varietal diversity provides an interesting opportunity for cultivar improvement by identifying genotypes with better adaptation potential.To explore this potential, we conducted a comprehensive study on 30 'Tempranillo Tinto' clones, chosen from a wide selection of 729 clones in the Rioja winemaking region of Spain. The focus was on characterizing four key phenological stages (budburst, full flowering, veraison, and harvest), for each clone over three consecutive seasons (2020-2022). Results revealed substantial differences among the studied clones, particularly in the duration of their vegetative cycle. Thus, whilst some early clones reached full maturity as early as September, others needed to be harvested at the end of the same month. The most significant difference among clones was observed in the interval between veraison and harvest dates, varying by up to 27 days. In conclusion, our findings suggest that clonal diversity in phenological traits can be an effective strategy to address varietal limitations towards climate conditions. This approach allows for the preservation of the typicity and added value conferred by ancient elite varieties in traditional winemaking regions, without the necessity of switching cultivars.
Sensitivity of fruit set to the environment is a genetic feature of uncertain origin that limits production in some grapevine clones and cultivars.Here we studied the developmental causes and environmental conditions leading to decreased fruit yield associated to somatic loss of fruit colour in Tempranillo Blanco (TB) white-berried derivative cultivar.We first compared fruit set-related production traits between TB and its black-berried clonal ancestor, Tempranillo Tinto (TT) cultivar, both grown under the same field conditions.We identified that lower cluster weight in TB correlated with a genetic reduction in pollen viability and lower fruit and seed setting.Then, a combination of correlation and two-way-ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) procedures, along with a series of multivariate linear regression models were developed to examine the effect of genotype and pre-flowering environmental factors on the reproductive performance of TB, using data recorded in nine field plots.These analyses identified prolonged pre-flowering cold periods and abundant rainfalls at flowering time as the main conditions increasing the ratio of seedless to seeded berries in the cluster, whereas the low pollen viability and low number of seeds characteristic of TB barely varied across plots.Collectively, these findings indicate that decreased gamete viability caused by complex genome rearrangements is in the origin of increased susceptibility to fruit set disorders in grapevine.The case of TB shows that such dysfunctions can be selected in clonally propagated crops as a trade-off of novel interesting traits emerged after genome reshuffling.Abbreviations: Eto_WeekF, mean daily evapotranspiration of the week of flowering (mm/day); Eto_Week1PreF, mean daily evapotranspiration of the first week before flowering (mm/day); Eto_Week2PreF, mean daily evapotranspiration of the second week before flowering (mm/day); Eto_Week3PreF, mean daily evapotranspiration of the third week before flowering (mm/day); Eto_Week4PreF, mean daily evapotranspiration of the fourth week before flowering (mm/day); Nday-s10_WeekF, number of days of the week of flowering with a minimum temperature below 10 • C; Ndays10_Week1PreF, number of days of the first week before flowering with a minimum temperature below 10 • C; Ndays10_Week2PreF, number of days of the second week before flowering with a minimum temperature below 10 • C; Ndays10_Week3PreF, number of days of the third week before flowering with a minimum temperature below 10 • C; Ndays10_Week4PreF, number of days of the fourth week before flowering with a minimum temperature below 10 • C; Ndays30_WeekF, number of days of the week of flowering with a maximum temperature over 30 • C; Ndays30_Week1PreF, number of days of the first week before flowering with a maximum temperature over 30 • C; Ndays30_Week2PreF, number of days of the second week before flowering with a maximum temperature over 30 • C; Ndays30_Week3PreF, number of days of the third week before flowering with a maximum temperature over 30 • C; Ndays30_Week4PreF, number of days of the fourth week before flowering with a maximum temperature over 30 • C; P_WeekF, mean daily precipitation of the week of flowering (l/m 2 ); P_Week1PreF, mean daily precipitation of the first week before flowering (l/m 2 ); P_Week2PreF, mean daily precipitation of the second week before flowering (l/m 2 ); P_Week3PreF, mean daily precipitation of the third week before flowering (l/m 2 ); P_Week4PreF, mean daily precipitation of the fourth week before flowering (l/m 2 ); R_WeekF, mean global radiation of the week of flowering (w/m 2 ); R_Week1PreF, mean global radiation of the first week before flowering (w/m 2 ); R_Week2PreF, MEAN global radiation of the second week before flowering (w/m 2 ); R_Week3PreF, mean global radiation of the third week before flowering (w/m 2 ); R_Week4PreF, mean global radiation of the fourth week before flowering (w/m 2 ); SV, Genome structural variation; T_WeekF, mean temperature registered during the week of flowering ( • C); T_Week1PreF, mean temperature registered during the first week before flowering ( • C); T_Week2PreF, mean temperature registered during the second week before flowering ( • C); T_Week3PreF, mean temperature registered during the third week before flowering ( • C); T_Week4PreF, mean temperature registered during the fourth week before flowering ( • C); TB, Tempranillo Blanco; TT, Tempranillo Tinto.