Regular Wine & Viticulture Journal scribe Erika Szymanski turns her attention to the practice of cold soaking in this issue, reviewing the latest research from around the world to find out what it tells us about how the practice enhances, or otherwise, wine quality.

This issue also includes a report by Spanish researchers into the oxygen permeability of maturation vessels and tanks made from materials other than wood, such as clay and concrete.

Also on the subject of winemaking, regular contributor Rachel Gore presents a handy checklist of the processes required to prepare aromatic whites for bottling.

On the Viticulture front, French researchers reveal the results of their investigations into whether the risk of water stress in vines is increased by the fact that the plants transpire water overnight.  Their investigations identified the scale and regulation of nighttime transpiration and its relative contribution to whole plant water-use and whether the opening of stomata at night provided some benefit to vines.

Australian viticultural-related research presented in this issue includes investigations into the potential impact of climate change on the irrigation requirements of vineyards, the effectiveness of remedial surgery in managing botryosphaeria dieback, and the assessment of trays placed at the bottom of vines for their ability to direct rainfall and irrigation to the base of plants and limit weed growth.

Rounding out the Viticulture section in this issue is an interesting study from South Africa where six different trellising systems, including Ballerina, Smart Dyson and Lyre, were studied for their influence on the main components of grapes, must and wine.

The issue also contains the results of our recent Barbera tasting.

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