Ozone Treatment of Grapes During Withering for Amarone Wine: A Multimodal Imaging and Spectroscopic Analysis

Abstract

AbstractThe production of Amarone wine is governed by a disciplinary guideline to preserve its typical features; however, postharvest infections by the fungusBotrytis cinerea(B. cinerea) not only represent a phytosanitary problem but also cause a significant loss of product. In this study, we tested a treatment with mild ozoniztion on grapes for Amarone wine production during withering in thefruttaio(the environment imposed by the disciplinary guideline) and evaluated the impact on berry features by a multimodal imaging approach. The results indicate that short and repeated treatments with low O3concentrations speed up the naturally occurring berry withering, probably inducing a reorganization of the epicuticular wax layer, and inhibit the development ofB. cinerea,blocking the fungus in an intermediate vegetative stage. This pilot study will pave the way to long-term research on Amarone wine obtained from O3-treated grapes.