terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Grape berry size is a key factor in determining New Zealand Pinot noir wine composition

Grape berry size is a key factor in determining New Zealand Pinot noir wine composition

Abstract

Read full article on OENO One

Making high quality but affordable Pinot noir (PN) wine is challenging in most terroirs and New Zealand’s (NZ) situation is no exception. To increase the probability of making highly typical PN wines producers choose to grow grapes in cool climates on lower fertility soils while adopting labour intensive practices. Stringent yield targets and higher input costs necessarily mean that PN wine cost is high, and profitability lower, in line-priced varietal wine ranges. To understand the reasons why higher yielding vines are perceived to produce wines of lower quality we have undertaken an extensive study of PN in NZ. Since 2018, we established a network of twelve trial sites in three NZ regions to find individual vines that produced acceptable commercial yields (above 2.5kg per vine) and wines of composition comparable to “Icon” labels. Approximately 20% of 660 grape lots (N = 135) were selected from within a narrow juice Total Soluble Solids (TSS) range and made into single vine wines under controlled conditions. Principal Component Analysis of the vine, berry, juice and wine parameters from three vintages found grape berry mass to be most effective clustering variable. As berry mass category decreased there was a systematic increase in the probability of higher berry red colour and total phenolics with a parallel increase in wine phenolics, changed aroma fraction and decreased juice amino acids. The influence of berry size on wine composition would appear stronger than the individual effects of vintage, region, vineyard or vine yield. Our observations support the hypothesis that it is possible to produce PN wines that fall within an “Icon” benchmark composition range at yields above 2.5kg per vine provided that the Leaf Area:Fruit Weight ratio is above 12cm2 per g, mean berry mass is below 1.2g and juice TSS is above 22°Brix.

DOI:

Publication date: May 31, 2022

Issue: Terclim 2022

Type: Article

Authors

Damian Martin1, Rebecca Deeds4, Melodie Lindsay4, Katie Parish-Virtue4, Paul Kilmartin4, Bruno Fedrizzi4, Leandro Dias Araujo5, Tanya Rutan6, Emma Sherman3, Muriel Yvon1, Lily Stuart1, Franzi Grab1, Claire Scofield2, Michelle Schurmann2 and Claire Grose1

1The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Marlborough, New Zealand
2The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Clyde, New Zealand
3The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Auckland, New Zealand
4School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
5AGLS Faculty, Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand
6Bragato Research Institute, Marlborough, New Zealand

Contact the author

Keywords

Pinot noir, grape, vine, wine, yield, quality, region, terroir

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terclim 2022

Citation

Related articles…

Utilizing ozone for the management of powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator Schwein.) in vineyards: potential and challenges

Powdery mildew, caused by fungal pathogens, poses a significant threat to grapevines in the DOCa Rioja region. In efforts to improve control strategies while reducing reliance on conventional phytosanitary products, ozone could constitute a potential alternative. However, it has short persistence, thus requiring frequent treatments. This study aimed to assess the suitability of ozone as an active substance for controlling powdery mildew within a phytosanitary strategy aimed at reducing conventional phytosanitary product usage. The strategy integrating ozone with conventional products yielded powdery mildew levels comparable to conventional treatments in both disease incidence and severity.

Read More

Elucidating contributions by vineyard site on volatile aroma characteristics of pinot noir wines

Correlations between vineyard site and wine have, historically, been limited due to lack of uniformity in scion and rootstock clone and lack of controlled pilot-scale winemaking conditions, particularly temperature

Read More

Brettanomyces bruxellensis, born to live

The wine spoilage yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis can be found at several steps in the winemaking process due to its resistance to multiple stress conditions. Among the resistance strategies, one could be the formation of biofilm, a lifestyle known to enhance persistence of microorganisms. In this study, we propose to characterize biofilm of B. bruxellensis in wine, especially through several microscopic analyses.

Read More

Multivariate characterization of Italian monovarietal red wines using FTIR spectroscopy

The assessment of wine authenticity is of great importance for consumers, producers and regulatory agencies to guarantee the geographical origin of wines and grape variety as well. Since mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy with chemometrics represent a suitable tool to ascertain the wine composition, including features associated with the polyphenolic compounds, the aim of this study was to generate MIR spectra of red wines to be exploited for classification of red wines based on the relationship between grape variety and wine composition. Several multivariate data analyses were used, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Discriminant Analysis (DA), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Soft Intelligent Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA).

Read More

Preliminary evaluation of agronomic and enological properties of preselected grapevine clones of ‘Tempranillo’ and ‘Graciano’ in DOCa Rioja (Spain)

Cultivation of a few number of clones is causing the loss of vineyard biodiversity, resulting in the disappearance of biotypes that could be of interest to face future challenges,

Read More