A climatic characterisation of the sub-Appellations in the Niagara Peninsula wine region

The presence of unstable proteins in wines can affect their stability and clarity. Before bottling, winemakers need to be sure that the wine is stable. A large number of stability tests have been proposed, usually based on heating a sample with a specific time-temperature couple. In practice, none is effective to accurately assess the risk of instability. Moreover, the interpretation of the results of these tests changes according to the region.

The components and methodology for characterization of the terroir in Spain have been described by Gómez-Miguel et al. (2003), Sotés et al. (2003), taking into account the full range of environmental factors (i.e: climate, vegetation, topography, soils, altitude, etc.),

Drought stress is an increasingly prevalent environmental challenge with implications for grapevine physiology and productivity, as well as for the microbiomes associated with grapevine tissues.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has a significant impact on wine aroma attributes and wine quality when present at concentrations above its aroma threshold of 1.1 to 1.6 μg/L.

Berry maturation in warm areas takes place very early, when temperatures are still high and favorable for carbohydrate synthesis and accumulation in the berries, but not as favorable for maintaining high titratable acidity or low pH, or for increasing berry polyphenol content. Different canopy management techniques have been proven to delay berry maturation at the expense of yield (severe canopy trimming, late spring pruning to induce sprouting of dormant buds, etc.). Minimal pruning delays berry ripening by highly increasing yield and by reducing the leaf area to fruit ratio.