Phylloxera-tolerant grape varieties for processing for wine and strong drinks

The paper presents the results of studies on the effect of shoot load of tolerant to phylloxera variety – Pervenec Magaracha, cultivated in own-rooted culture, on the quality of grapes and wine. Based on literary review, the possibility of using grapes of this variety in cognac production has been confirmed.

Introduction. The production of grapes and their processed products is becoming increasingly expensive. Fuel for machinery, pesticides, fertilizers, materials for trellises, seedlings, etc. are becoming more expensive. All this is reflected in the cost of production. One of the ways to reduce the cost of grapes is the use of own-rooted seedlings tolerant to the main pest of grapevine – phylloxera. Until recently, it was believed that wine and other beverages made from grapes of such varieties were inferior in quality to classic European varieties. Our work proves the opposite. Therefore, studies aimed at identifying the possibility of using phylloxera-tolerant varieties grown in own-rooted culture for making wine and spirits in order to increase the profitability of grape production and its processed products are relevant.

The object of research is the effect of shoot load on the productivity of plantings and qualitative indicators of grapes and wine of tolerant to phylloxera variety – Perveneсz Magaracha, cultivated in own-rooted culture.

Materials and methods. The research was carried out on experimental plots of Novocherkassk department of experimental field of the All-Russian Research Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking named after Ya.I. Potapenko (Novocherkassk, Rostov region). The experiments and all observations were carried out according to the method generally accepted in viticulture.

Results and conclusions. On average, over 4 years of research, the best yield indicators were noted in plants of the variant with a load of 45 shoots per plant – 16.6 t/ha. Higher quality indicators of grapes during this period were in the variant with the minimum load in the experiment (30 shoots per bush) – the concentration of sugars was 18.8 g/100 cm3, titrated acids – 8.4 g/dm3. With an increase in the number of shoots in structure of a bush to the maximum in the experiment (45 pieces/bush), the yield increased by 33%, the sugar content of berry juice decreased by 7.5%. According to the years of research, the yield of vineyards varied in a wide range, but was naturally higher in the latter variant. The conditions of grapes changed both by the years of research and by the variants of experiment. In 2019, 2020 and 2022, the values of sugar content in berry juice naturally decreased with an increase in the load of shoots. In 2021, an inverse dependence was found: with an increase in the load, the sugar content increased and the amount of titrated acids decreased. It depended on the weather conditions of growth period, filling and ripening of berries. The highest tasting rate of the wine of the 2019 vintage had wine made from grapes with 35 shoots in the structure of the bush (8.6 points). The most interesting wine made from grapes of the 2020 vintage was in the variants with the smallest (30 pcs/bush) and the largest (45 pcs/bush) shoot load. It was evaluated by the tasting commission of the Institute by 8.6 points. The grapes of Perveneсz Magaracha variety are suitable for the production of cognac, in quality comparable to the drinks made from classic cognac grapevine varieties.

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