Caratterizzazione delle produzioni vitivinicole dell’ area del Barolo: un’esperienza pluridisciplinare triennale (5)

Port is a fortified wine, produced from grapes grown in the demarcated Douro region. The fortification process consists in the addition of a grape spirit (77% v/v) to the fermenting juice for fermentation interruption, resulting in remaining residual sugars in the wine and increased alcohol content (19-22%). The approval of grape spirits follows the Appellation (D.O. Port wine) rules1 and it is currently carried out based on analytical control and on sensory evaluation done by the public Institute that upholds the control of the quality of Douro Appellation wines. However, the producers of Port wines would like to have more information about quality markers of grape spirits.

«Graves de Bordeaux» est une des rares appellations à porter le nom d’un terroir, au sens agronomique du terme. Et ce territoire vitivinicole présente une relative unité géographique, de Langon à Bordeaux sur la rive gauche de la Garonne.

A wide range of olfactory descriptors ranging from fresh and jammy fruit notes to cooked and oxidized fruit notes could describe the fruity aroma of red wines [1]. The fruity character of a wine is mainly related to the grape variety selected, to the terroir and the vinification process applied for its conception. In white wines, some volatile compounds confer directly their aroma to the wine while the question of “key” compound is more complex in red wines. According to many studies performed over the past decades, some fruity ethyl esters are directly involved in the fruity perception of red wines while others, present at subthreshold concentrations, participate indirectly to the fruity expression via perceptive interactions [2].

In recent years red wines are being produced in Andalusia from indigenous and foreign grape varieties, one of which is the Spanish variety Tempranillo.

The oenological potential of grapes at harvest depends on a combination of the major components of Terroir: the climate, the soil, the plant material, the training system and the crop management.