Evolution of several biochemical compounds during the development of Merlot wine in the vinegrowing “Terroir” of Valea Călugăreasa

The online monitoring of fermentative aromas provides a better understanding of the effect of temperature on the synthesis and the loss of these molecules. During fermentation, gas and liquid phase concentrations as well as losses and total productions of volatile compounds can be followed with an unprecedented acquisition frequency of about one measurement per hour. Access to instantaneous production rates and total production balances for the various volatile compounds makes it possible to distinguish the impact of temperature on yeast production (biological effect) from the loss of aromatic molecules due to a physical effect³.

Une variable composite, dénommée Indice de Site (SI), intégrant les propriétés physiques du sol et le mésoclimat, avait été proposée pour caractériser les terroirs dans le cadre d’une étude des vignobles de Cabernet Sauvignon de Hawke’s Bay en Nouvelle Zélande.

A statistical model of sugar potential for Mourvèdre grapevine cultivar has been obtained using a group of 32 plots all around de south-east french mediterranean area.

Residual grape solids (suspended particles) in white and rosé musts vary depending on the clarification pro-cess. These suspended solids contain lipids (more especially phytosterols) that are essential for yeast meta-bolism and viability during fermentation in anaerobic conditions.

The reproducibility of elemental profile in wines produced across multiple vintages has been previously reported using grapes from a single scion clone of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir. The grapevines were grown on fourteen different vineyard sites, from Oregon to southern California in the U.S.A., which span distances from approximately hundreds of meters to 1450 km, while elevations range from near sea level to nearly 500 m. In addition, sensorial (i.e. aroma, taste, and mouthfeel) and chemical (i.e. polyphenolic and volatile) differences across the different vineyard sites have also been observed among these wines at two aging time points. While strong evidence exists to support that grapes grown in different regions can produce wines with unique chemical and sensorial profiles, even when a single clone is used, the understanding of growing site characteristics that result in this reproducible differentiation continues to emerge. One hypothesis is that the elemental profile that a vineyard site imparts to the grape berries and the resulting wine is an important contributor to this differentiation in chemistry and sensory of wines. For example, various classes of enzymes that catalyze the formation of key aroma compounds or their precursors require specific metals. In this work, we begin to report correlations between elemental and volatile aroma profiles of site-specific Pinot noir wines, made under standardized winemaking conditions, that have been previously shown to be distinguished separately by these chemical analyses.