TCA – A status report on South African cork closures

Must oxidation is a complex process involving multiple enzymatic transformations, including the oxidation of phenolics containing an ortho-diphenol function. The latter process has a primary influence on wine aroma characteristics and stability, due to the central role of ortho-diphenols in the non-enzymatic oxidative reactions taking place during winemaking and in finished wine. Although oxidation of must is traditionally avoided, in recent years its contribution to wine quality has been revisited, and in some cases improvements to wine aroma have been observed with the application of controlled must oxidation. Nowadays there is a great interest in the wine industry towards the identification of specific markers or patterns to characterize and classify the response of grape must to oxidation.

The production of organically grown crops developed exponentially in the last few decades based on consumer demands for healthy food

The qualitative and quantitative distribution of the phenolic compounds in red wines depends on cultivars features, on grapes maturation state, on grapes processing technology including must obtention, as well as on maceration-fermentation method (Margheri, 1981). The last two factors are responsible for the different phenolic composition of the wines produced from the same cultivar.

Irrigation of vineyards is a matter of controversial arguments at areas of high quality wine production. Besides, the effects of the water in the plant are closer related to the water availability than to the irrigation regime.

The identification and management of intra-vineyard variability are key to precision viticulture, and sensors have been proven to be highly efficient tools for detecting these variations.