terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 EFFECT OF WHOLE BUNCH VINIFICATION ON THE ABUNDANCE OF A SWEETENING COMPOUND

EFFECT OF WHOLE BUNCH VINIFICATION ON THE ABUNDANCE OF A SWEETENING COMPOUND

Abstract

In classic red wine-making process, grapes are usually destemmed between harvest and the filling of the vat. However, some winemakers choose to let all or a part of the stems in contact with the juice during vatting, this is called whole bunch vinification. For instance, this practice is traditionally used in some French wine regions, notably in Burgundy, Beaujolais and the Rhone Valley. The choice to keep this part of the grape is likely to affect the sensory properties of wine, as its gustatory perception1,2. Previous studies have focused on the chemical composition of stems and have shown that astilbin, a sweet molecule, is a one of the major phenolic compounds3,4. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of whole bunch vinification on the concentration of astilbin in wine.

Several experiments have been carried out in various French wine regions, in Burgundy, Beaujolais and Bordeaux over three vintages allowing to compare different grape varieties namely Pinot Noir, Gamay and Merlot. The addition of stems is carried out while filling the vats, according to different proportions ranging from 15 to 50 % of the total volume of introduced grape. For each experiment, the modality with addition of stems is compared with a vat of destemmed grapes coming from the same plot. Samples were taken throughout the wine-making process to be analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Exactive, Orbitrap analyzer).

The comparison of astilbin content in the two modalities showed that the addition of stems during vatting significantly increased astilbin concentration. Furthermore, this increase varies according to the grape variety. Indeed, the ratio between the astilbin concentration of wines from the two modalities is higher in Merlot than in Pinot Noir and Gamay. The localization of astilbin in the different components of Merlot and Pinot Noir bunch was also investigated in order to better understand this difference.

This study provides new insights on the contribution of stems to the concentration of a sweet compound, astilbin. Besides, these results bring new tools to better understand the practice of whole bunch vinification from a chemical perspective.

 

1. Casassa, L.F., Dermutz, N.P., Mawdsley, P.F., Thompson, M., Catania, A.A., Collins, T.S., Ashmore, P.L., du Fresne, F., Gasic, G., Peterson, J.C.D., 2021. Whole cluster and dried stem additions’ effects on chemical and sensory properties of Pinot noir wines over two vintages. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 72, 21–35.
2. Pascual, O., González-Royo, E., Gil, M., Gómez-Alonso, S., García-Romero, E., Canals, J.M., Hermosín-Gutíerrez, I., Zamora, F., 2016. Influence of Grape Seeds and Stems on Wine Composition and Astringency. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 64, 6555–6566.
3. Fayad, S., Le Scanff, M., Waffo-Teguo, P., Marchal, A., 2021. Understanding sweetness of dry wines: First evidence of astilbin isomers in red wines and quantitation in a one-century range of vintages. Food Chemistry 352, 129293.
4. Souquet, J.-M., Labarbe, B., Le Guernevé, C., Cheynier, V., Moutounet, M., 2000. Phenolic Composition of Grape Stems. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 48, 1076–1080.

DOI:

Publication date: February 9, 2024

Issue: OENO Macrowine 2023

Type: Article

Authors

Marie Le Scanff 1,2, Axel Marchal 1,2

1. Univ. Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP, INRAE, OENO, UMR 1366, ISVV, F-33140 Villenave d’Ornon, France
2. Bordeaux Sciences Agro, Bordeaux INP, INRAE, OENO, UMR 1366, ISVV, F-33170 Gradignan, France

Contact the author*

Keywords

Stem, Whole bunch vinification, Sweetness, Astilbin

Tags

IVES Conference Series | oeno macrowine 2023 | oeno-macrowine

Citation

Related articles…

RED WINE AGING THROUGH 1H-NMR METABOLOMICS

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.

Read More

IMPACT OF RHIZOPUS AND BOTRYTIS ON WINE FOAMING PROPERTIES

A lot of work has been done on the impact of Botrytis on the foam of sparkling wines. This work often concerns wines produced in cool regions, where Botrytis is the dominant fungal pathogen. However, in southern countries such as Spain, in particularly hot years such as 2022, the majority fungal pathogen is sometimes Rhizopus. Like Botrytis, Rhizopus is a fungus that produces an aspartic protease.

Read More

INFLUENCE OF WINEMAKING VARIABLES AND VINEYARD LOCATIONS ON CHEMICAL AND SENSORY PROFILES OF SOUTH TYROLEAN PINOT BLANC

Pinot Blanc, an important grape variety grown in some mountain areas of Northern Italy such as South Tyrol over the last decades, with its cultivation covering 10.3% of the total vineyards, has compatible climatic conditions (e.g. heat requirements) which are normally found in the geographical areas of the mountain viticulture [1,2,3,4]. Climatic changes are hastening the growth of this variety at higher elevations, particularly for the production of high quality wine.

Read More

A NEW SPECIFIC LINEAGE OF OENOCOCCUS OENI IN COGNAC APPELLATION WINES

Oenococcus oeni is the main lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species which conducts the malolactic fermentation (MLF) in wine. During MLF, O. oeni converts malic acid into lactic acid, which modulates wine aroma composition leading to better balanced organoleptic properties. O. oeni is a highly specialized species only detected in environments containing alcohol such as wine, cider or kombucha. Genome analysis of more than 240 strains showed that they form at least 4 main phylogenetic lineages and several sublineages, which are associated with different beverages or types of wines.

Read More

HOW OXYGEN CONSUMPTION INFLUENCES RED WINES VOLTAMMETRIC PROFILE

Phenolic compounds play a central role in sensory characteristics of wine, such as colour, mouthfeel, flavour and determine its shelf life. Furthermore, the major non-enzymatic wine oxidation process is due to the catalytic oxidation of phenols in quinones. Due their importance, during the years have been developed different analytical methods to monitor the concentration of phenols in wine, such as Folin-Ciocalteu method, spectrophotometric techniques and HPLC. These methods can also be used to follow some oxidation-related chemical transformations.

Read More