The Influence of Terroir on Phenolic Composition of Red Grapes

A rich content of phenolic compounds (anthocyans and tannins) is a fundamental technological condition for the obtaining of quality red wines - appreciated by increasing numbers of consumers, aware of the benefic health effects brought about by these biologically active compounds. The biosynthesis of phenols and their accumulation in the grape berries during ripening is influenced by a multitude of factors. In this study we focused on terroir and on the biological potential of the authorized red varieties for wines with controlled denomination of origin in four centres of three well-established viticultural regions: the Hills of Dobrogea, the Hills of Moldova, the Hills of Muntenia and Oltenia. The polyphenolic potential of the grapes was evaluated for the crop of 2015 by the standard Glories method, thus obtaining results for the total polyphenolic potential (ApH1), the extractable anthocyans potential (ApH3,2), the percentage of anthocyans extractability (%AE), the maturity of the seeds (MS) and total polyphenols (PT). By classifying the freshly harvested grapes on the basis of their phenolic potential using the statistical method of Principal Component Analysis, the studied varieties are clearly differentiated based on the viticultural terro

Dinamica umidităţii solului în plantaţiile viticole în condiţii de stres hidric şi termic

At the Copou -Iasi viticulture center, in recent years we witnessed a decrease in the multi -annual average rainfall regime, this being of 579.6 mm and of 398.1 mm (1981-2010) during the vegetation period. Between 1992 -2014, the driest years were 2000, 2007, 2009 and 2012. Drought conditions were also in 2015 and 2016, having different characteristics. In 2015, there were few precipitations accompanied by high temperatures, often above 30°C. The amounts of rainfall recorded in 2016 were very unevenly distributed, thus there were recorded months with very low quantities, well below the normal values and months when quantities were higher than the normal values. Low rainfall and high temperatures have led to a sharp decline in accessible soil moisture values, well below optimal humidity levels for the vine, and to increased deficit

Evaluarea conţinutului de 5-hidroximetilfurfural al unor vinuri albe seci şi îndulcite

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a water-soluble compound resulting from heating monosaccharides in acidic conditions (e.g. wine pasteurisation), potentially carcinogenic to humans. White wines obtained through classical winemaking technologies and subsequently pasteurised were assessed for their HMF content by UV-vis spectrometry. Different volumes of oversulfited and concentrated musts were added to increase the concentration of sugars in wines (10 to 50 g/L). Samples were subjected to heat treatment (45- 100°C) in time intervals correlated with temperature (<120 min). Pasteurised dry wines showed low HMF levels of 1.09-3.14 mg/L. HMF content of traditionally “mulled” wine was the highest in samples sweetened to 100 g/L sugars boiled for 10 minutes (>181mg/L). The HMF content in dry and sweetened white wines was correlated with high sugar content, high acidity, high temperature and a long heating time, normal pasteurisation (75°C, 1-2 min) leading to lower HMF amounts

Separarea şi caracterizarea principalelor fracţiuni de proantocianidine din seminţele de struguri

Grape seeds, as waste products of the winemaking industry, contain large amounts of monomers, oligomers and more highly polymerised proanthocyanidins (PA), being a good source of phytochemicals for the production of antioxidative dietary supplements. PA from defatted grape seeds were extracted by precipitation with diethyl ether from the crude alcoholic extract and fractionated into monomers (FI), oligomers (FII) and polymers (FIII) of flavan-3-ols by their separation on C18 Sep-Pak cartridges. FIII was the predominant class of proanthocyanidins (82.22%), while monomeric PA has only 5.71% of total. The ratio PA (by vanillin assay) / tannins (Bate-Smith assay) indicates the highest degree of polymerisation (DP) in FIII fraction (1.28). Thin layer chromatography (TLC) confirmed the presence of monomers in FI, the DP increasing significantly for the next two fractions. Oligomeric and polymeric PA showed the highest antioxidant activity (% scavenged DPPH), but the synergic antioxidant effect of PA classes was also observed

Study of Cytostatic and Cytotoxic Activity of Several Polyphenolic Extracts Obtained from Vitis vinifera

The study of polyphenolic extracts from skins, seeds, grape pomace and lees is justified by the huge amount of information from specialized literature, drawing attention to the many pharmacological effects of these biomolecules. The concentrated vegetal extracts obtained from seeds, skins, grape pomace and lees (yeast deposit after fermentation) were characterized according to their content of total polyphenols, anthocyanins, dry matter, ash and pH. The biological material used in the in vitro testing experiments in order to study cytostatic and cytotoxic effects were stabilized cultures of HeLa cancer cells, uncontaminated with mycoplasma and derived from a human uterine cervix carcinoma. Another action of the cytostatic substances could be exerted upon the cell proliferation process. The cell division process of the HeLa cell cultures treated with seeds by-product showed remarkable quantitative changes. The study has also evidenced a great number of dead cells in the composition of the treated HeLa cell cultures, their existence pointing out that the bioactive agent induced a major decrease of the cells viability. The obtained results in the context of the complex evaluation of the in vitro antitumoral property of the extracts, obtained from seeds, skins, grape pomace and wine lees from the ‘Arcaş’ grape variety, on HeLa cells cultures, have demonstrated the significant cytostatic and cytotoxic potential of the seeds polyphenolic biopreparate. The results obtained show that polyphenolic extracts from Vitis vinifera seeds act as cytostatic and cytotoxic agents

Climate changes in recent decades, the evolution of the drought phenomenon and the impact on vineyards in North-eastern Romania

Unfavourable trends have been identified in the evolution of climate factors (temperatures, precipitation, etc.) over the past years, with a direct impact on the vegetative and productive potential of the vine. This calls for a reassessment of climate resources and the adaptation of cultivation technologies to the new conditions. Our paper analyses the climate data recorded between 1991 and 2020 for the Iaşi vineyard ecosystem, which allowed for the calculation of a series of bioclimatic indices and coefficients, deviations from the multiannual average values, soil moisture dynamics, and their influence on development of vegetation phenophases and grape production. The increasing tendency of the average annual temperature and the decreasing amounts of precipitation registered point to a marked warming of the vineyard climate, especially after 2000. The high values of temperatures, corroborated with the soil water deficit, determined an intensification of the atmospheric and pedological drought, a shift in vegetation phenophases, shortened development periods and a forced ripening of grapes, with a negative impact on yields, which fluctuated from one year to another. The analysis of the ecoclimate conditions over the past 30 years has highlighted an alternation of periods, a colder and wetter one between 1991 and 2006, and a warmer and dried one between 2007 and 2020

Experimentarea şi optimizarea unor metode şi practici de cultură a vitei de vie în perioada de conversie la sistemul ecologic

Technologies currently used in viticulture are based on a brutal human intervention in natural ecosystems causing, exhaustion in short time of natural fertility of the soil, environmental pollution and increased vulnerability of ecosystems vineyards. Both reducing energy consumption and preserving the ecosystems are representing the aim of remodeling and method optimisationduring the vine conversion period. In this regard, the wine center Copou Iasi were established specific technology area, differentiated from Feteasca albă and Feteasca regala. The suitability of the viticultural area Copou-Iași as organic culture of the vine is confirmed by the results obtained from observations and measurements of climatic factors, deployment phenophases of vegetation, soil moisture dynamics, weed spectrum of experimental plots, the degree of attack of pests and diseases as well as quantitative and qualitative assessmen

Experimentation of grapevine cultivation in organic system, on five different Romanian vineyards

In five Romanian vineyards, in 2013-2014 period was experimented organic system growing on  grape varieties for wine representative for each area, here are applied organic growing technology in parallel with the conventional (control). White varieties studied are: Chardonnay (Murfatlar and Valea Calugareasca), Sauvignon blanc and Muscat Ottonel(Tarnave), Feteasca regala (Tarnave, Bujoru and Copou-Iasi). Red varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon (Murfatlar and Valea Calugareasca) and Merlot (Bujoru). Concerning evolution of main climatic factors for the years 2013-2014 it is show that the annual average air temperature increase compared with the average of the years 1991-2010; is observed an increasing in mean annual temperature, mean temperature during the growing season and the value of sum of sunshine hours. The water regime was kept constant, registering values close to the annual average, both during the growing season and at entire year. The weeds spectrum is represented both by dicotyledonous as knotweed (Polygonum aviculare), Veronica (Stellaria media), news (Amaranthus retroflexus), bindweed (Convolvurus arvensis) and monocotyledonous as grass thick (Cynodon dactylon). Concerning the phytosanitary status, at Murfatlar were registered problems with oidium attack, with all main disease at Dealu Mare and with downy mildew at Bujoru. In all areas the pest has been found are: grape mouth (Lobesia botrana) and spiders (Tetranichus sp.). Schemes of treatments focused generally on substances bassed on copper and sulfur to combat diseases and for pests have been used pheromonal traps or other certified organic products. The grapes harvest was lower in organic plots with till 25%; their quality being close at both growing variants