Anthocyanin composition of grapes from three different soil types in cv. Tempranillo A.O.C. Rioja vineyards.

Background: Soil and climate are among the most determining factors for the composition of grapes. Among the compounds present in grapes, anthocyanins mainly determine their organoleptic and health-related properties. The purpose of this work was to study the influence of three different soils on the anthocyanin content of Tempranillo grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) from 2016 and 2017 vintages. The soils of the vineyards were classified as Fluventic Haploxerepts (FH), Typic Calcixerepts (TC) and Petrocalcic Palexerolls (PP).

Results: Non-acylated anthocyanins, and those derived from malvidin and peonidin, were the most abundant in grapes, regardless of soil type and year. During the wetter season (2016), the grapes with the highest concentration of total anthocyanins and several of the major anthocyanins were those from TC and PP soils, in which nitrogen availability was lower than that in FH soil. However, during the drier season (2017), no significant differences were observed, although trends similar to those seen in the 2016 season were recognized. Principal component analysis showed a good separation of samples according to the two seasons and to the three soils in each season.

Conclusion: In vineyards that resemble each other closely and that are located in a unique mesoclimatic area where similar plant material is used and similar managements practices are applied, soil characteristics, which condition water holding capacity and nitrogen availability for the vines, in conjunction with seasonal conditions, were the factors that predominantly determined the anthocyanin composition in grapes. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.