PhD in Sustainable development and cooperation

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Phd thesis

Natural yeast populations have a relevant impact on human activities such as wine production. Since yeasts are not airborne (they cannot be transported by the wind), they need a vector to reach the wine grapes in the vineyard. In this optic, it has already been demonstrated the role of insects (Polistes spp. and Vespa crabro) and birds in vectoring yeasts to the vineyard but we are still far from completely understanding the factors determining the spread of these non-airborne microorganisms in nature. The aim of SustWine is to identify the factors of the environmental matrix contributing to the definition of the microbial diversity present in the vineyard and hence potentially influencing the organoleptic characteristics of the wine.

To achieve this goal, we will monitor the fauna and the flora of selected vineyards and quantify the nutritional status of the vine and grapes to search for correlations with multiple factors of the environmental matrix (e.g. percentage of vegetative areas, presence of rivers, soil composition). In addition, the fermentation processes and products of the selected vineyards will be compared by subjecting the harvested grapes to spontaneous fermentation in the cellars of the corresponding winery. After defining which elements of the environmental matrix are associated with the biodiversity present in the vineyard and in the cellar, the impact of these factors on the microbial populations will be assessed by carrying out a micro-census, before and after the harvest, analyzing the insects, birds, vineyard grapes, and must microbiota and comparing them among vineyards. The overall goal of SustWine is to improve the sustainability of wine production and enhance the typicality of the product. In this perspective, each wine producer will increase their competitiveness in the market through the production of characteristic and unique wines.