Evolution of chemical pattern related to Valpolicella aroma ‘terroir’ during bottle aging

Excessive fertilization of the vineyard leads to low quality grapes, increased costs and a negative impact on the environment. In order to establish an integrated management system aimed at a sustainable fertilization of the vineyards, nutritional reference levels were established. For this purpose, 30 representative vineyards of the Albariño variety were studied, in which soil and petiole analyses were carried out for two years and grape yield and quality at harvest were measured. In both years of study, soil pH, calcium, sodium and cation exchange capacity were positively correlated with calcium content and negatively correlated with manganese in grapes. Irrigated vineyards had higher levels of aluminium in soil and lower levels of calcium in petiole. Climatic conditions were very different in the years of the study. The year 2019 was colder than usual, in 2020 there was a marked water stress with high summer temperatures. This resulted in medium-high acidity in grapes in 2019 and low acidity in 2020, with sugar levels being similar both years. A very marked decrease in must amino nitrogen was observed in 2020, with ammonia nitrogen remaining stable. The correlation of acidity and sugar values in grapes with soil and petiole analysis data made it possible to establish reference levels for the nutritional diagnosis of the Albariño variety in this region. Based on these results, an easy-to-use TIC application is currently being created for grapegrowers, aimed at improving the sustainability of the vineyard through reasoned fertilization. This study has now been extended to other Galician vine varieties.

Polyphenols are very important compounds of red wines, serving as essential bioactive components and playing an important role in sensory properties. The determination of individual phenolic compounds in red wine is commonly performed by HPLC analysis, while the total polyphenols are quantified by spectrophotometric methods, usually by the method of absorbance at 280 nm (index of ribéreau-gayon) or the method of index of folin-ciocalteu. In this work, we pioneeringly proposed a new and fast method for simultaneous determination of individual and total polyphenols in red wines by direct-injection HPLC without sample preparation.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is used in winemaking due of its antioxidant, antioxydasic and antiseptic properties. Excessive amount of SO2 can negatively impact wine sensory perception and be detrimental for health. Agri-food industries are more transparent towards consumers concerning addition of sulfites, and oenology is no exception in this clairvoyance. As a consequence, the increase of consumers preference for wine with low or absent of sulfites addition is notorious. In this context, the impact of low/zero sulfites winemaking process on the microbial community should be evaluated. Moreover, microbial agents corresponding to bioprotective cultures represent a growing interest as an alternative to sulfites preservation in the early stages of vinification. However, scientific studies conducted to demonstrate their real effect are almost rare.

1,1,6-Trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene (TDN) is a controversial aroma component found in Riesling wines. It belongs to the family of C13-norisoprenoids and is mainly associated with kerosene/petrol notes. TDN can add complexity to the wine aroma at medium – low concentrations and deteriorate the wine bouquet when its content is high. No TDN aromas are usually perceived in young Riesling wines, but they can appear after several years of aging due to the gradual formation of TDN. Management of TDN in Riesling wines is an actual task, since global warming can promote formation of this compound and compromise the aromatic composition of wine. Therefore, the aim of the current work was, firstly, to study the sensory particularities of TDN in Riesling wine at various concentrations. Secondly, to investigate the ability of bottle closures to absorb (scalp) TDN from Riesling wine under various storage conditions. These studies also include the comparative assessment of our findings with previously published data. METHODS: sensory analysis, GC-MS (SBSE), HPLC,1H-NMR and other methods related to the synthesis and determination of TDN. RESULTS: First of all, the method of the synthesis of highly purified TDN (95% and 99.5%) was optimized [1].

A set of Syrah plots covering a wide range of terroirs distributed in the vineyards of the Rhone Valley and the Mediterranean South is examined through their oenological and sensory characteristics. The multidimensional analysis of data leads to the following groupings: (1) A group of unstructured wines with a simple aromatic profile dominated by fruity-floral notes; they come from plots where the ripening conditions have been disturbed by unfavorable climatic conditions, or an excess harvest.