Valpolicella chemical pattern of aroma ‘terroir’ evolution during aging

Agricultural productivity must promote management systems that incorporate sustainability principles, and viticulture is no exception.

L’étude présentée porte sur une commune de l’Entre-Deux-Mers dans le bordelais. Nous caractérisons dans un premier temps les potentialités des sols vis-à-vis de la production de vins rouges de qualité (délimitation de terroirs grâce à la prise en compte des couvertures pédologiques et des caractéristiques morphométriques du terrain : pentes, expositions, convexités. Dans un second temps, nous récapitulons l’évolution historique des occupations des sols depuis 1790 : l’emplacement des vignes est ainsi localisé sur les terroirs respectifs des communes. Enfin, une étude prospective résultant d’enquêtes sur l’utilisation du foncier, situe le devenir prévisible de l’espace étudié (en particulier dans ses composantes viticoles et urbaines).

In modern viticulture, sustainability must be considered not only into the winery, but in the vineyard as well, being that with the most attentive interventions in order to protect the environment. In this context, the new “fungi resistant” varieties represent a valid option for reducing the negative environmental impact of agrochemicals used in viticulture, including those ones used in organic farming (given the copper accumulation into soils). Several application studies have demonstrated the enological validity of many resistant varieties, both in price and as a blend. Also, under the production point of view, the feasibility and economical sustainability of the new resistant varieties was verified. The aim of this work was to deepen the knowledge on the organoleptic characteristics of wines obtained from the Fleurtai and Soreli varieties and to compare them with the wine obtained from Tocai Friulano, the mother variety in the area destined for the production of the Lison Classico DOCG appellation. The purpose of the work is then to verify the possibility of introducing resistant varieties into the DOCG while maintaining the wine name of the appellation linked to the territory.

Previous work from our laboratory has shown that both a purified toasted oak powder and extracts made from unoaked and oaked red wines influenced physiological parameters, metabolism and hepatic gene expression in high-fat fed C57/BL6J male mice (Luo et al., 2020).  Impacted pathways included glucose metabolism, liver fat accumulation, markers of chronic inflammation, and expression of the Gsta1 mRNA.  

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is the most commonly used additive during winemaking to protect wine from oxidation and from microorganisms. Thus, since the 18th century, SO₂ was almost systematically present in wines. Recently, wines produced without any addition of SO₂ during all the winemaking process including bottling became more and more popular for consumers. A recent study dedicated to sensory characterization of Bordeaux red wines produced without added SO₂, revealed that such wines were perceived differently from similar wines produced with using SO₂ and were characterized by specific fruity aromas and coolness1,2.