PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pedro Balda
AU  - Javier Ibáñez
AU  - Juan Carlos Sancha
AU  - Fernando Martínez de Toda
TI  - Characterization and Identification of Minority Red Grape Varieties Recovered in Rioja (Spain)
AID  - 10.5344/ajev.2013.13050
DP  - 2013 Oct 15
TA  - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
PG  - ajev.2013.13050
4099  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2013/10/14/ajev.2013.13050.short
4100  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2013/10/14/ajev.2013.13050.full
AB  - In 1988 a research project was started in order to recover the minority varieties of Rioja. The grapevine biodiversity accumulated during the past centuries was being lost and an important source of genetic material was in danger of extinction. An intense prospection all along Rioja appellation was made and the selected vines were preserved within a germplasm bank. The ampelographic description according to 44 OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine) characters and the genetic characterization using 11 nuclear microsatellites markers were performed for each one of the 45 red accessions of the germplasm bank. In total, 26 different varieties were found by the ampelographic and genetic analysis and 24 of them were identified. The two varieties left did not match with any other genetic profile of the Spanish or European microsatellite database. The origin of the identified varieties is very diverse, showing the importance of the grape variety exchange occurred during the last centuries in the historical wine regions. Minority varieties could play an important role in the next future, considering their adaptation capacity to new climatic conditions or their specific wine profiles, which could fulfill new market demands.