Le zonage viticole: instrument pour la récuperation d’un ancien cépage des collines de Conegliano (Verdiso – V. vinifera)

Climate change has become a reality that is becoming more and more apparent every day, with changes in the physico-chemical composition of grapes and an increase in the alcohol content of finished wines. These higher alcoholic degrees are not without consequences for the success of alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Correcting the alcohol content (-20% of the initial alcoholic strength) is also part of an approach designed to meet consumer expectations for healthier, lighter or lower-alcohol wines (9 to 13% vol.). Correcting the alcohol content of wines also rebalances the mouthfeel by reducing the alcohol’s burn.

Maturation of wine on lees (often referred as sur lie) is a common practice applied by many winemakers around the world. In the past this method was applied mainly on white and/or sparkling wine production but recently also to red wine production. In our experiment, we matured red wine on wine lees of two origins: a) Light wine lees, collected after the completion of the alcoholic fermentation, b) Heavy lees, collected after the completion of the malolactic fermentation. The lees were free of off-odors and were added in the red wine in percentage 3% and 8%, simulating common winemaking addition. The maturation lasted in total six months and samples were collected for analysis after one, three and six months. During storage the lees were stirred.

Over the years, microoxygenation (MOX) has become a popular vinification technique to improve wine sensory qualities. However, among the impacting factors reported

In the Cognac appellation, the production of white wines is almost exclusively dedicated to elaborate Charentaise eaux-de-vie. In this sense, the quality of Cognac eaux-de-vie intrinsically depends on the quality of the base wines subjected to the distillation stage. In this context, the production of these base wines differs from those of classic white wines to release particular organoleptic properties during the distillation stage.

The definition of the term “quality” in sensory evaluation of food products does not seem to be consensual. Descriptive or liking methods are generally used to differentiate between wines (Lawless et al., 1997). Nevertheless, quality evaluation of a product such as wine can also relate to emotional aspects. As exposed by Costell (2002), product quality is defined as an integrated impression, like acceptability, pleasure, or emotional experiences during tasting. According to the ‘modality appropriateness’ hypothesis which predicts that wine tasters weigh the most suitable sensory inputs for a specific assess- ment (Freides, 1974; Welch & Warren, 1980), the nature of the quality definitions may modulate sensory influences.