Abstract:
Insufficient sunlight during veraison to the maturing stage of wine grapes is one of the main factors that inhibits the production of phenolic compounds. In this study, a novel thinning technique called cluster tip removal (CTR) was applied to the inflorescence of Vitis vinifera L. Marselan grapes, and the berry composition, phenolic profiles and antioxidant activities of berry skins and wines were determined. The results showed that the CTR of inflorescence resulted in reduced cluster compactness, lower titratable acidity, and higher Brix levels in berries. CTR also increased the concentration of total phenolics, anthocyanins, tannins, and flavonoids in the distal end skins of berries and enhanced the concentrations of 12 phenolic compounds. It also increased the concentrations of total flavanols and total anthocyanins concentrations in wines. The berries and wines in the CTR group were also had higher antioxidant capacities compared with those in the control group. Finally, the expression of phenolic-related genes was upregulated in the skin of berries from the CTR group as compared with that from the unpruned group.
- Received November 2020.
- Revision received February 2021.
- Revision received March 2021.
- Accepted March 2021.
- Published online June 2021
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).