Chile is characterized by offering high-quality vitivinicultural products and for its renowned viticultural valleys. At today, Chile has been considered vulnerable to climate change, which has brought a major concern to the national vitiviniculture. This research aimed to analyze the trends and climatic variability of the Chilean viticulture over three decades (1985-2015), evaluating meteorological, bioclimatic and risk indices in forty-seven stations. Meteorological data indicated that the warmest zone was Atacama, while the coldest was Aysén. The rainiest region was Austral, while the driest was Arica y Parinacota. Growing-season indices (GST, GDD and HI) showed that Central Valley was warmer than Arica y Parinacota, whereas, this latter, presented higher sum of spring temperatures (SONMean and SONMax). Atacama presented the highest risk for T>30°C, whereas Central and South Valleys for T>35°C. The highest frost risk was in Aysén, while the lowest in Arica y Parinacota. In general, Min T decreased by 0.33 ºC, while Max T increased by 0.83ºC. None of the trends for PP presented statistical significance. GST, GDD, HI, BEDD, SONMean and SONMax increased by 0.58ºC, 118.29 heat units, 140.57 heat units, 79.72 heat units, 8.42 heat units and 45.17 heat units, respectively, while CI decreased by 0.19ºC. Some stations that presented negative trend on CI coincided to the highest Max T. Locations in Coquimbo and Aconcagua valleys changed from intermediate to warm climate. Locations from Coquimbo and Central valleys changed from warm to hot climate. Quilaco changed from cool to warm climate, while Osorno changed from without classification to cool climate. PCA analysis reported that meteorological variables were related to the distance of the site to the Pacific Ocean. This information is of importance for the national industry and may allow to define mitigations strategies facing global warming.

(1) Background: Italia is a seeded grape variety widely cultivated in the Aegean Region in Turkey, whereas Bronx Seedless is a seedless grape variety, preferred by consumers due to its pink berries and interesting flavor. The goal was to study the volatile compounds of these table grapes throughout berry ripeness. (2) Methods: The volatile compounds were analyzed by GC-MS in six different phenological stages (3) Results: Bronx Seedless grapes presented a higher content of seven terpenes, three aldehydes, one fatty acid, three alcohols, one C6 compound, total aldehydes and total alcohols, and a lower content of eleven terpenes, one fatty acid, four esters, one alcohol, four C6 compounds and its total content than Italia table grapes. The concentration of most of the volatile compounds analyzed increased from “begin of berry touch” to “berries ripe for harvest” stages. Terpenes content in both varieties at harvest was lower than 1.0 mg L⁻¹. β-ionone presented the highest odor activity value (OAV) in both varieties. Bronx Seedless grapes presented higher OAV for (Z)-3-hexenal and cedrol, and lower hexanal to (E)-2-hexenal ratio than Italia grapes. (4) Conclusions: Both varieties could be classified as neutral aromatical varieties and it is probable that to achieve a better aromatic quality, Bronx Seedless should be harvested later than Italia.

Recently, the interest in methyl jasmonate (MeJ) has increased in viticulture due to its effects on the synthesis of phenolic secondary metabolites in grapes, especially of anthocyanins, flavonols, and stilbenes derivatives, naturally occurring or synthesized, in berries in response to MeJ application to grapevines. These metabolites help to define sensory characteristics of wines by contributing to their color, flavor and mouthfeel properties, and to derive potential beneficial health effects due to their consumption. This review offers an overview of the importance of these phenolic compounds in grape and wine quality, in association with the MeJ supplementation to grapevines, and also considers their natural biosynthesis in grapes. On the other hand, this review describes the adaptation mechanisms induced after the grapevine elicitation. In addition, this report addresses the effects of MeJ over other aspects of Vitis immunity and its association with phenolic compounds and summarizes the recently published reports about the effects of exogenous MeJ applications to grapevines on grape and wine quality.

Phenological models have been made mainly for winegrape cultivars, despite the economic importance of table grapes. The aim of this work was to develop and validate models for predicting phenological scales of table grapes (cvs. Thompson, Crimson and Superior Seedless and Red Globe) grown under semi-arid conditions. Measurements of phenology were carried out weekly from budburst to harvest during four growing seasons (2009-2013). Phenology models were developed using the Mitscherlich monomolecular equation where the dependent and independent variables were the Eichhorn and Lorenz phenological (ELP) scale modified by Coombe and the growing degree days (GDD), respectively. Results indicated that there were strong non-linear correlations between the ELP scale and GDD for the four cultivars with coefficient of determinations (R2) ranging between 0.97-0.99. Also, validation indicated that the models were able to predict ELP scale with a root mean square (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) ranging between 2.1-2.4 and 1.35-1.69, respectively. The prediction variability (expressed in days) was between 4.4-19.4 days, obtaining the best results for the flowering period. This study suggested that the phenological models based on GDD could be useful planning tools for farming, especially from budburst to veraison of table grape cultivars.

Hyper-arid regions are characterized by extreme conditions for growing and lack of water (<100 mm annual rainfall average), where desertification renders human activities almost impossible. In addition to the use of irrigation, different viticultural strategies should be taken into account to face the adverse effects of these conditions in which rootstocks may play a crucial role. The research aim was to evaluate the effects of the rootstock on yield, vigor, and petiole nutrient content in Syrah grapevines growing under hyper-arid conditions during five seasons and compare them to ungrafted ones. St. George induced lower yield than 1103 Paulsen. Salt Creek induced higher plant growth vigor and Cu petiole content than ungrafted vines in Syrah, which was correlated to P petiole content. However, Salt Creek and St. George rootstocks induced an excess of vigor in Syrah according to Ravaz Index. Rootstocks with V. berlandieri genetic background should be used in Syrah growing under hyper-arid conditions to maintain adequate levels of plant vigor and to avoid deficiencies or toxicity of macro and micronutrients.

Aims: This work focuses on the study of the intra- and inter-annual Temporal Stability of Within-Field Variability (TSWFV) of Total Soluble Solids (TSS) as an estimate of grape maturity. Methods and results: The experiment was carried out between 2009 and 2015 in four fields located in the Maule Valley, Chile, under irrigated conditions. Each field corresponded to a different cultivar (namely Cabernet-Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Carménère), and data collection ranged over two to four years depending on the field. A regular sampling grid was designed within each field, and TSS was measured at each site of the grid on different dates (from veraison to harvest). A Kendall test (W) was used to analyse the TSWFV of TSS between all dates for each cultivar and season. A Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (r_s) was used to analyse the relationships between each sampling date and the date of harvest considered as the reference. Results of the study highlighted high within-field variability in TSS. The W test showed significant intra- and inter-annual TSWFV, and r_s values showed a high and significant correlation between sampling dates. Conclusion: These results are of interest for precision viticulture since, under the conditions of the experiment, the spatial patterns of the TSS maps obtained 40 days before harvest remain the same until harvest. Therefore, early target sampling of TSS may provide a good estimate of the spatial variability of grape maturity at harvest. Significance and impact of the study: The inter-annual stability of the TSS spatial patterns makes it possible to propose a simple empirical spatial model that allows estimation of TSS values for the whole field using only one reference measurement, provided that historical data are available.