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

‐Evaluation of xylem embolism is an important challenge in identifying drought tolerant genotypes within the context of climate change.

Climate change establishes challenges, as well as opportunities for many sectors, and markedly the wine sector.

Protein haze in white wines is a major technological and economic problem of the wine industry. Field tests were carried out in steep slope vineyards planted with Riesling grapes over 3 dry growing seasons to study the effect of drought stress on the concentration of proteins in the resulting wines. Plots suffering from drought stress were compared with surrounding drip irrigated plots. Riesling grapes were processed into wines by conventional procedures. Protein amounts of the isolated wine colloids of the stressed samples were always higher than those of the watered samples(mean watered 13.8 ± 0.44, mean stressed 17.4 ± 0.40 g 100 g-1). As a consequence, higher bentonite doses were needed to achieve protein haze stability of the drought stressed treatments.

The study was performed in the summer of 2007, the point of confluence of a rather atypical vintage year in the area with abnormally low temperatures after a very humid spring

Aging wine on lees benefits different wine sensory and technological properties including an enhanced resistance to oxidation. Several molecules released by yeast, such as membrane sterols and glutathione, have been previously proposed as key factors for this activity [1].