Organic and biodynamic sustainable productions and effect on eligibility and peculiarity of a typical wine

Brandy de Jerez (BJ) is a spirit drink made exclusively from spirits and wine distillates and is characterized by the use of casks for aging that previously contained Sherries. The quality and sensory complexity of BJ depend on the raw materials and some factors: grape variety, conditions during processing the wine and its distillation, as well as the aging in the cask. Therefore, the original compounds of the grapes from which it comes are of great interest (1 y 2) being in most cases the Airén variety. Their relationship with the quality of the musts and the wines obtained from them has been studied (3) and varies each year of harvest depending on the weather conditions (4).

Major and trace elements are essential for the development of grapes used for the wine. They are primarily originating from the soil. Some elements are also seldomly added during the wine making process. Therefore, the largest spectrum of major, trace and ultra-trace elements in the final wine product is a good signature of its geographical origin. In the frame of the European tracewindu, we have developed a very original multi-isotopic dilution method using triple quadrupole icp/ms.

From the chemical angle, Champagne wines are complex hydro-alcoholic mixtures supersaturated with dissolved carbon dioxide (CO₂). During the pouring process and throughout the several minutes of tasting, the headspace of a champagne glass is progressively invaded by many chemical species, including gas-phase CO₂ in large majority. CO₂ bubbles nucleated in the glass and collapsing at the champagne surface act indeed as a continuous paternoster lift for aromas throughout champagne or sparkling wine tasting [1]. Nevertheless, inhaling a gas space with a concentration of gaseous CO₂ close to 30% and higher triggers a very unpleasant tingling sensation, the so-called “carbonic bite”, which might completely perturb the perception of the wine’s bouquet.

Climate change, particularly drought stress, threatens viticulture sustainability. Understanding scion-rootstock interactions and their link to the grapevine microbiome is key to improving vine health, productivity, and drought resilience.

Following the 2008-2009 reform of the European Union’s common market organisation in wine all protected designations of origin and geographical indications were imposed to prepare a product specification that described the conditions of their use. In this paper, we describe this process and the Hungarian system of geographical indications.