VALORIZATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MINORITY GRAPEVINE VARIETIES BY CLASSICAL METHODS AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE TRANSBOUNDARY SPACE
(0039_MINORSENS_2_E)
Funding entity:
Total budget of the UVa project: 188.403,82 €
Start date: 01/09/2023
End date: 30/09/2026
UVa group leader:
Mª Luz Rodríguez Méndez
Full professor at University of Valladolid
It is a multidisciplinary project that brings together a multitude of organisations involved in wine research and production: universities, research centres, regulatory councils and producer associations from both Castilla y León and the Portuguese region of Tras os Montes.
The project was born with a clear objective: to recover and enhance the value of minority grape varieties in this cross-border region using both traditional methods and new technologies.
According to experts, the grape varieties of this region are of great interest, as they allow wines with moderate alcohol levels and good acidity to be obtained.
At present, 21 varieties have been identified: 14 reds (Tinta gorda, Bastardo, Cornifesto, Marufo, Tinto Cao, Rufete, Jaen, Estaladiña, Merenzao, Bruñal, Tinto Jeromo, Mandón, Piñonera and Cenicienta); 6 whites (Bical, Samarrinho, Boal, Puesta en Cruz, Bastardo Branco and Rufete Serrano Blanco); and one pink variety (Verdejo Colorao), a figure that could be increased if, in the course of the project, a minority variety with the desired oenological characteristics were to appear in the area of cooperation.
The recovered grapes will be used to make single-varietal wines that will be used to characterise the musts and wines using traditional chemical methods, as well as new analysis techniques based on nanosensors that will allow advanced information to be obtained on the minority varieties.
These are electronic noses and tongues that will be able to capture nuances that human senses cannot reach and will have a great impact, not only in the field of viticulture and oenology, but also in the field of technological sensors.
Collaborating in Minorsens are the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, the Comissão Vitivinícola Regional De Trás os Montes – Cvrtm, the University of Valladolid, the Arribes Protected Designation of Origin and Appitad (Associação dos Produtores em Protecção Integrada de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro).
The project, which will run until 2026, is funded under the Interreg-Poctep program and coordinated by the Agricultural Technology Institute of Castilla y León (Itacyl).
