Identification of Red Grapevine Cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.) Preserved in Ancient Vineyards in Axarquia (Andalusia, Spain)

A prospecting work at the Axarquia region (Malaga, Spain) was carried out in order to identify local red grapevine cultivars preserved in ancient vineyards. A total of 11 accessions were collected in seven different plots from four municipalities and analyzed using 25 microsatellite loci for cultivar identification. The accessions analyzed were identified as eight different genotypes, seven of them corresponding to known cultivars as ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’, ‘Jaen Tinto’, ‘Molinera’, ‘Monastrell’, ‘Muscat of Alexandria’, ‘Parrel’, and ‘Romé’. In addition, one of them is referred to as the new genotype for ‘Cabriel’ cultivar. Additionally, an ampelographic characterization was carried out with 30 International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) descriptors for two consecutive years for the eight accessions identified as local cultivars. This allowed the identification of a somatic variant of the ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ cultivar that affects the color of the berry and another of ‘Romé’ regarding bunch compactness.