terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 GiESCO 2023 9 The impact of delayed grapevine budbreak on lemberger wine sensory compounds under variable weather conditions

The impact of delayed grapevine budbreak on lemberger wine sensory compounds under variable weather conditions

Introduction

Spring freeze events threaten grape production globally 1–3. As grape buds emerge from dormancy in spring, freezing temperatures have the potential to damage green tissues 4,5, decreasing yield potential and compromising fruit quality by harvest 2,6,7. Bud freeze damage may become more frequent if global warming accelerates budbreak without a concurrent decrease in spring freeze events 3,8. One promising strategy to prevent grapevine freeze damage is to delay budbreak, for example by applying chemical products during dormancy 7,9,10 or by postponing winter pruning until after budbreak 11. Although these methods are effective at preventing freeze damage, in cool climates with short fruit ripening periods, delaying budbreak has the potential to delay the development of sugars, phenolics, and volatile compounds in fruit, negatively impacting the flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel of finished wines. In this study, we evaluated the impact of two techniques to delay grapevine budbreak on volatile and nonvolatile compounds of Lemberger wines (Vitis vinifera), and we related the impacts on wine composition to consumer perception, over three vintages at a cool-climate site.

This study builds on our past work, where we investigated the effects of applying a chemical spray product and delayed winter pruning on Lemberger budbreak, freeze damage, yield parameters, and basic wine chemistry in 2018 and 2019 7. While we found no differences in basic fruit and wine chemistry by harvest, vines with later budbreak tended to show a delay in berry color change around veraison, assessed in mid-August each year, suggesting a delayed onset of phenolic compounds that went uncharacterized. Furthermore, in the pilot year of that study (2017, unpublished data), budbreak was delayed up to 23 days, over twice as much as the highest delay in 2018 and 2019, which led to an even more extensive delay in the onset of veraison. Due to distinct variations in key phenological stages and seasonal weather conditions over the three years of the study, we expanded our research to understand the extent to which delaying budbreak affects volatile and nonvolatile compounds in wines from 2017-2019.

Here, we aimed to determine how delaying budbreak and the onset of fruit ripening impacts wine chemical composition and whether impacts of delaying budbreak are consistent among years, or if they mainly depend on factors such as seasonal weather. We also evaluated if consumers could detect differences between wines made from vines that experienced a different degree of delayed budbreak and onset of veraison. We hypothesized that, among vintages, seasonal weather metrics would more strongly impact overall wine composition than delaying key phenological stages (i.e., budbreak and veraison), regardless of the extent of delay. However, within each vintage, we hypothesized that if there was still a delay in fruit phenological development at veraison, delayed budbreak treatments would lead to lower concentrations of nonvolatile (e.g., tannins and anthocyanins) and volatile (e.g., terpenoids and ethyl esters) compounds in finished wines, which consumers would be able to detect.

DOI:

Publication date: June 20, 2023

Issue: GiESCO 2023

Type: Article

Authors

Meredith PERSICO1, Donald SMITH1, Maria SMITH1, Helene HOPFER2, Michela CENTINARI1*

1Dept. of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
2Dept. of Food Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

Contact the author*

Keywords

freeze avoidance, budbreak, climate change, wine composition, sensory perception

Tags

GiESCO | GIESCO 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Climats: a model of terroir-based winegrowing recognized by UNESCO

In Burgundy, a climat has nothing to do with the weather but accurately designates a named vine plot, often centuries-old, which produces a singular wine. This wine is the combination of history, the natural environment (relief, type of soil, exposure to the sun), a grape variety and know-how going back thousands of years. The grapes of each climat are harvested separately and the wine is made from a single grape variety and has a unique name featured on the bottle. Romanée conti, clos de vougeot, montrachet, musigny, corton…

Lean management to improve sustainability in wine sector: an exploratory study in the Prosecco DOC appellation

The contemporary wine sector confronts a formidable array of challenges, including burgeoning production costs and the constricted availability of natural resources. Heightened consumer awareness regarding sustainability issues further compounds these pressures, compelling companies to adopt more judicious resource utilization strategies. In response to these imperatives, there is a growing recognition of the need to overhaul production methodologies within the wine industry with a view to minimizing inputs and eliminating waste.

Emosensory profile and chemical characterization of wine vinegar from the Douro and Rioja demarcated regions

Wine vinegars have a tangy flavor and are versatile in cooking. They’ve been used since the neolithic period and are now used as microbial inhibitors and acidifiers. They’re low in calories, have antioxidants, and have a long shelf life, but quality may decrease after opening. The objective of this study focuses on the physical-chemical, sensory, and emotional characterization of wine vinegar samples from the douro demarcated region and la rioja. In total, 22 samples of wine vinegar were analyzed at the time of opening.

Where the sky is no limit – the transformation of wine marketing through text-to-video generation AI models

The introduction of ai-driven tools in digital content creation represents a significant shift in the landscape of marketing, particularly for industries reliant on rich visual storytelling such as the wine sector. The development of ai models like openai’s sora, runway’s gen-2 or google’s lumiere, which can generate realistic video content from textual descriptions, offers promising new avenues for enhancing brand narrative and consumer engagement. This research explores the potential of text-to-video (t2v) ai models to revolutionize wine marketing by creating dynamic, engaging content that captures the essence of vineyards and their products without the need for traditional video production processes.

A century of evolution of the rules relating to grape varieties  in the regulation of French wine AOCs

To characterize a wine, the most frequently used criteria describe its color, its origin, the grape varieties from which they come, or even for white wines its residual sugar content (dry, semi-dry, sweet). In france, the system of appellations of origin set up in 1919 was initially based solely on the notoriety and origin of the wines. But given the unfavorable consequences that this lack of details generated, the public authorities quickly integrated in 1927 into the “capus” law criteria for access to designations of origin, relating to the specific characteristics of the soils of the vineyards and the grape varieties used, in particular exclusion of interspecific hybrid varieties. In 1935 the creation of the aoc system confirmed the interest in precisely defining all the production conditions that must be implemented to be able to claim the benefit of an aoc, and grape varieties were an essential condition for acquisition.