Composition of grape and wine from resistant vine varieties

Obtaining resistant varieties to diseases without loss of organoleptic quality is a real challenge for oenology. Interspecific hybridization of grapevines began in the 19th century and was initially aimed at introducing pest and disease resistance in offspring. Later, several breeding programmes implemented worldwide led to the development of varieties showing different characteristics such as cold-hardiness, short/long growing season, and pest resistance. Vitis vinifera grapes have preferred flavour characteristics for wine production, but they tend to be susceptible to pests, diseases, and extreme temperatures; species native to North America and East Asia are generally better adapted to these stressors. But these wild species tend to be low yielding and produce wines with undesirable sensory characteristics, including high acidity, low astringency, and excessive herbaceous or undesirable aromas. To be an innovative revolution during the 21st century, resistant varieties (actual and future) should be tested in different contexts for 3 major points: (i) vines can produce grapes without pesticides; (ii) grape and wine quality (chemical and safety quality) needs to be compared with parent vine sources, and a referential of chemical composition for secondary metabolite families (aromas, phenolics, potential spoilage compounds, etc.) has to be realized for the new resistant varieties after different winemaking processes; and (iii) wines need to be tested (with mapping technique) for sensory perception and classified according to their quality level after winemaking and during the ageing process.