Priorat vineyard vulnerability and water stress assessment in the context of global climate change. Estimated Priorat wine consumption in humans

Identifier:  TDX:3217

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX3217

Authors:  Sánchez Ortiz, Antoni

Abstract:
The Grenache and Carignan varieties are widely spread in the province of Tarragona, especially Priorat DOQ. Global change is inducing significant variations in the phenology, production and quality, which show the vulnerability of this crop in front of increases in temperature and significant reductions in water availability. Two important aspects are assessed: ecophysiological aspects related to water use efficiency and the effects induced by mesoclimatic variations, specifically temperature and water availability. The effect of climate and soil in relation to the growth of the vine, the annual climate variability, as well as its interaction with the soil and its water reserve capacity permitted to assess the vulnerability of viticulture to global change. To assess the water stress in grapevines together with a methodology for ABA determination and vineyard classification, allowed us to study how the periods of little water availability and high temperatures can affect the synthesis of phenolic compounds. Analysis of the phenolic composition by HPLC was essential for the establishment of the quality parameters in relation to water stress. Secondly, validating a small-scale methodology used in heterogenous vineyards studies indicated the pros and cons of employing different volumes of small-scale fermentation. When a sample is not large enough to undergo large-scale fermentation, the total phenols cannot be fully extracted from the wine. This gap would be filled by examining how different volumes could affect the composition of the wines to conclusively represent a specific winemaking procedure. Lastly, phenolic compounds of wine have also attracted much interest due to their potentially beneficial effects for human health. Based on its low bioavailability, it was estimated the efficacy intake of 5 different Priorat wines. It was evaluated the beneficial effects of different ranges of recommended intake for wine depending on gender, age and activity factor. Implementing precision viticulture and adapting the techniques of extraction of color and tannin during fermentation will have to be managed with greater knowledge and more precisely, depending on the water status of the plant.