Molecular approaches for understanding and modulating wine taste

Smoke impacts on wines are becoming a worldwide problem; the size and severity of wildfires increasing due to influences from changing climates.¹ For over a century, wines have been known to have a unique issue of absorbing chemical compounds derived from wildfire smoke wherein the flavor of the subsequent wine becomes ashy, rubbery, campfire-like, and smoky.² The economic impacts of a smoke-impacted wine can last for years depending on the grape varietal, costing Oregon and Washington states in the United States over a billion dollars from the 2020 wildfires, as an example.³ While years of research have indicated elevated concentrations of smoke-related compounds, such as guaiacol and syringol, in wines after smoke events, unfortunately, replicating the sensory experience using smoke-associated phenols has not had much success.⁴

Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a phenolic compound with extensive bioactive properties. It is present in olives, olive oil and wines. Its occurrence in wines is partly due to yeast synthetise tyrosol from tyrosine by the Ehrlich pathway, which is subsequently hydroxylated to .
The aim of the present work is to study how different yeast strains can influence in the HT production and, how the different nitrogen consumption of each strain can interfere the production of bioactive compounds.

This study aimed to determine mineral composition in red wine obtained from cv. Teran (Vitis vinifera L.), autochtonous Croatian grape variety. Six different vinification treatments, including the control treatment (7-day standard maceration), were performed to study the effects of: 48-hour pre-fermentative mash cooling (8 °C) followed by prolonged post-fermentative maceration of 13 days (C15), 28 days (C30), and saignée technique (juice runoff) proceeded with prolonged post-fermentative maceration of 13 days (CS15); and effect of 48-hour heating (50 °C) followed by prolonged post-fermentative maceration of 13 days (H15) and 28 days (H30) on macro- and microelements in wine.

Premium red wines are often aged in oak barrel. This widespread winemaking process is used, among others, to provide roundness and complexity to the wine. The study of wine evolution during barrel aging is crucial to better ensure control of wine quality.
¹H-NMR has already been proved to be an efficient tool to monitor winemaking process [1]. Indeed, it is a non-destructive technique, it requires a small amount of sample and a short time of analysis, yet it provides clues about several chemical families.

Champagne wines are produced via a two-step process: the first is an initial alcoholic fermentation of grape must that produces a still base wine, followed by a second fermentation in bottle – the prise de mousse – that produces the effervescence. This appellation produces non-vintage sparkling wines composed of still base wines assembled from different vintages, varieties, and regions. These base wines, or “reserve wines,” are typically conserved on their fine lies and used to compensate for quality variance between vintages (1). Continuously blending small amounts of these reserve wines into newer ones also facilitates preserving the producer’s “house style.”