Anthocyanin and flavonol profiles of Vitis vinifera L. cv Rufete grapes

Abstract

[EN]The alteration of the rainfall pattern and the increase of the frequency of extremely hot days associated to global climate change are expected to have an important impact in agriculture. Grapevine, among other crops, seems to be particularly sensitive to these changes (Mira de Orduña, 2010). Wine producers are concerned about the negative impact of these changes in grapevine and, consequently in wine quality. Nevertheless, it has been reported that the impacts are not likely to be uniform across all varieties and regions (Jones et al., 2005). On the other hand, wine consumers demand not only quality but also typicity. As a consequence, the interest in autochthonous grape cultivars has been increasing during the last years. These autochthonous grape cultivars may provide typicity to the wine and may be better adapted to the changing conditions of the growing region. Nevertheless, a selection of the clones with the best potential should be performed. V. vinifera L. cv Rufete is autochthonous from La Sierra de Francia (MAGRAMA, 2013), a mountainous region located in the Southern west part of the Spanish province of Salamanca and which is a part of the Biosphere Reserve “Las Sierras de Bejar y Francia” designed by UNESCO in 2006. This cultivar is highly adapted to this region, with vineyards located in south-exposed terraces. Previous studies (Yuste et al., 2010) have revealed a high quality potential of this variety.