INFLUENCE OF BUD LOAD ON THE QUALITY OF GRAPES AND WINES OBTAINED FROM CABERNET SAUVIGNON

The typicality and quality of a wine are the result of a combination of environmental factors (geological, agro-pedological, climate, vintage), biological factors (variety, rootstock) and human intervention (vine growing and winemaking techniques). The optimisation of the cultivation technology of a variety in a certain area aims at adapting the yield in accordance to its biological potential to increase the quality of grapes and wines. In this study we determined the influence of the bud load per vine obtained by pruning, for variants of 36 and 20 buds/vine, compared to the control of 28 buds/vine. The study was performed in 4 wine-growing regions (Dobrogea Hills, Muntenia and Oltenia Hills, Moldova Hills and Transylvania Plateau), for two consecutive years (2016 and 2017). The results obtained for the variant with reduced bud load showed significant increases in the quality of the grapes, in particular regarding the sugar content and the weight of 100 berries. As for the wines resulted from the experimental variants, correlated to the sugar content, significant increases in alcoholic strength and non-reducing extract were observed, these parameters being important in the classification of wines in Denomination of Origin wine category. Furthermore, for the same variants, the phenolic content also increased, as confirmed by the content of total anthocyanins and total polyphenols. In all regions and for both vintages, the lower bud ensured better quality in the grapes and wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon variety.