Integrated Fertilization with Bagasse Vermicompost Changes the Microbiome of Mencía Must and Wine

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

According to the title "Integrated fertilization with bagasse vermicompost changes the microbiome of red grapevine Mencía must and improves wine quality" can be published in a special issue of Journal Fermentation: "Wine Microbiology".

However, when reading the text of the article, questions arise, by eliminating which it would be possible to improve the presentation and discussion of the material received.

If the article is supposed to focus on the use of bagasse vermicompost as biohumus, then why is the introduction and discussion not discussing what other researchers have done in this direction.

Does the introduction discuss issues that are unpublished data, but for which this article does not provide actual data?

In fact, the article provides data on the microbiological diversity of must and wine of the same variety with and without the use of bagasse vermicompost. Maybe just change the title of the article so that there are no questions about the material that is not given in the article? There is no material on the role of individual microorganisms in wine must formation processes, although this is discussed as unpublished data. It talks about the quality of wine, its change, but there is no factual material.

In my opinion, the article requires a thorough revision, so that the purpose and objectives of the research would correspond to the material obtained and discussed in comparison with the data of other researchers.

Author Response

Reviewer 1

According to the title "Integrated fertilization with bagasse vermicompost changes the microbiome of red grapevine Mencía must and improves wine quality" can be published in a special issue of Journal Fermentation: "Wine Microbiology". However, when reading the text of the article, questions arise, by eliminating which it would be possible to improve the presentation and discussion of the material received. If the article is supposed to focus on the use of bagasse vermicompost as biohumus, then why is the introduction and discussion not discussing what other researchers have done in this direction.

A: We have reviewed and changed the Introduction section to contain relevant information regarding the use of bagasse vermicompost as fertilizer.

Does the introduction discuss issues that are unpublished data, but for which this article does not provide actual data? In fact, the article provides data on the microbiological diversity of must and wine of the same variety with and without the use of bagasse vermicompost. Maybe just change the title of the article so that there are no questions about the material that is not given in the article? There is no material on the role of individual microorganisms in wine must formation processes, although this is discussed as unpublished data. It talks about the quality of wine, its change, but there is no factual material.

A: We think that the title was clear and referred to the observed changes in the microbiome as well as the improved wine quality. Nevertheless, we have changed the title so there is no confusion.

In my opinion, the article requires a thorough revision, so that the purpose and objectives of the research would correspond to the material obtained and discussed in comparison with the data of other researchers.

A: We have thoroughly revised the manuscript and added relevant information to the Introduction section, hoping now the objectives are clarified.

Reviewer 2 Report

Currently, circular viticulture has aroused great interest due to the large amount of waste it generates. The fact that marc vermicompost can modify the behavior of the vineyard towards greater production and also improve, even slightly, the quality of the wine, will allow the sector to provide an outlet for an important waste product such as pomace. On the other hand, the authors have carried out an important statistical treatment of the data, which gives robustness to the article. I believe that this manuscript represents an advance in the knowledge of the vineyard microbiome and how it can affect the quality of our wines. I consider that the authors have done a very good and complete job.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

Currently, circular viticulture has aroused great interest due to the large amount of waste it generates. The fact that marc vermicompost can modify the behavior of the vineyard towards greater production and also improve, even slightly, the quality of the wine, will allow the sector to provide an outlet for an important waste product such as pomace. On the other hand, the authors have carried out an important statistical treatment of the data, which gives robustness to the article. I believe that this manuscript represents an advance in the knowledge of the vineyard microbiome and how it can affect the quality of our wines. I consider that the authors have done a very good and complete job.

A: We thank the reviewer for this comment.