Examining the Impacts of Environmental Variations and Farming Practices on Wine Grapevine Microbiomes

Abstract

Microbiomes can be found everywhere in the world and contribute to many organisms\u27 metabolism processes. The microbiomes found on vineyards, including bacterial and fungal species, have been suggested to influence the terroir of wine produced from the plants. We hypothesized that geographic location and farming practices of vineyards would both impact what bacterial and fungal communities are present. Vineyards sampled were paired based on Willamette Valley American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) and opposing farming practices. DNA was extracted from grapes and soil from Pinot Noir blocks sampled from each location in order to identify resident microbiomes. It was found that fungal communities showed significant difference when comparing vineyards by AVAs, while bacterial communities showed significant difference when comparing farming methods. From this investigation, it can be revealed that specific characteristics of vineyards can determine what unique features may be present in local microbiomes. Further research can show how these differences in bacterial and fungal communities result in unique wines in the Willamette Valley