Early defoliation has been found a useful tool to reduce cluster compactness and to improve fruit composition in vigorous sites of different viticultural areas. Our objective was to test the usefulness

During red wine fermentation, the extraction of phenolics compounds and sufficient oxygen provision are critical for wine quality [1,2]. In this trial, we aimed at evaluating the kinetics of phenolic extraction and dissolved oxygen during red wine fermentations using the airmixing system. Twenty lots of red grape musts were fermented in 300.000 L tanks, equipped with airmixing, using two injection regimes (i.e., high and low intensity, and high and low daily frequency). An oxygen analyzer was introduced into the tanks in order to record the concentration of dissolved oxygen over time.

In an experiment located at Quinta da Cavadinha, Sabrosa, Douro Region the behaviour of the varieties Touriga Nacional (TN), Tinta Barroca (TB), Touriga Franca

“The Human being has an excellent ability to detect and discriminate odors but typically has great difficulty in identifying specific odorants”(1). Furthermore, “from a cognitive point of view the mechanism used to judge wines is closer to pattern recognition than descriptive analysis.” Therefore, when one wants to reveal the volatile “wine-like feature” pattern recognition techniques are required. Sensomics is one of the most recent “omics”, i.e. a holistic perspective of a complex system, which deals with the description of substances originated from microorganism metabolism that are “active” to human senses (2). Depicting the relevant volatile fraction in wines has been an ongoing task in recent decades to which several research groups have allocated important resources. The most common strategy has been the “target approach” in order to identify the “key odorants” for a given wine varietal.

No other agricultural product has a stronger relationship with the soil than wine. This study aimed to characterize the sensory profile of red wines from the Douro Demarcated Region (RDD) certified as DOC Douro, through the application of Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA®) and Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) sensory methods. QDA® provides a complete word description for all a product’s sensory properties. The TDS, which is relatively recent in the sensory field [1], allows to evaluation and description of the evolution of the dominant sensory perceptions during the tasting of a food product.Eighteen commercial wines from different producers were evaluated, six different samples representing each of the three sub-regions of the RDD.