Valpolicella chemical pattern of aroma ‘terroir’ evolution during aging

The dynamic evolution of some bioclimatic indices largely used to define the vocation of areas to grape growing was assessed over 43 years (1965-2007) in four sites of the Abruzzo Region (Central Italy).

Lately several works highlighted the capacity of grape cell-wall material (CWM) to interact with proanthocyanidins (PA), indicating its potential use as fining agent for red wines.1–4 However, those studies were performed by using purified PAs and very high doses of CWM (almost ten-fold higher than those used in wine industry for other commercial fining agents). The present study focuses on the applicability of CWM from Cabernet sauvignon pomace as fining agent for red wines under real winery conditions. Grapes of cultivar Cabernet sauvignon were harvested at three different maturity levels
(unripe, mature, and overripe) and used for red winemaking. The pomace of such vinifications were used as source of CWM, and applied into red wines at two different concentrations: 0.2 g/L and 2.5 g/L.

Wine aging with oak chips is nowadays a common alternative to barrel aging, aiming to improve wine quality through the fast extraction of wood derived compounds. From the pool of wood phenols, ellagitannins have been reported to have the most significant impact on the wine’s organoleptic profile. Their final concentration in wines is influenced by several factors, with toasting level considered as one of the most important.

Barrel ageing is a transformative process that alters a wine’s organoleptic properties and consequently its price. Even though it is considered beneficial mostly for red wines, ageing can also be used for white wines but for shorter time periods. Due to barrel costs, space requirements and the markets’ demands for fast release of each new vintage, new products such as oak chips or shavings have been developed to help minimize the time needed for the extraction of essential wood compounds.

The wine market interest for autochthonous varieties, particularly from less known wine regions, has significantly raised in the past few years. In that context, Slovenia, a small country from central Europe with a long winemaking tradition, is getting more and more attention, particularly through its range of unique regional varieties. Among them, Zelen, meaning “green” in Slovene, can only be found in the Vipava valley region, located on the western side of the country, near the border with Italy. When they are young, Zelen wines display very singular aromas reminiscent of rosemary, sage and white fruit. Despite its uniqueness, Zelen wine aromatic typicality is poorly documented in the literature.