AN AUTOMATIC CANOPY COOLING SYSTEM TO COPE WITH THE THERMAL-RADIATIVE STRESSES IN THE PIGNOLETTO WHITE GRAPE

Wine tasting has been shown to provide emotions to tasters (Coste et al. 2018). How will expertise impact this emotional response? Burnham and Skilleås (2012) reported that the cultural, experiential, and aesthetic competencies characterize an expert in wine compared to a novice. Although there is no consensual definition of an aesthetic experience, Burnham and Skilleås (2012) reported that aesthetic appreciation is “disinterested, normative for others and communicable” in comparison to sensory pleasure.

The use of toasted vine-shoots (SEGs) as an enological tool is a new practice that seeks to improve wines, differentiating them and encouraging sustainable wine production. The micro-oxygenation (MOX) technique is normally combined with alternative oak products with the aim to simulate the oxygen transmission rate that takes place during the traditional barrel aging. Such new use for SEGs implies a reduction in color due to the absorption by the wood of the responsible compounds, therefore, given the known effect that MOX has shown to have on the modification of wine color, its use together with the SEGs could result in an interesting implementation with the aim to obtain final wines with more stable color over time.

Wine grapes exposed to wildfire smoke have resulted in wines with burnt and ashy sensory characteristics¹, that are undesirable qualities in wine. In extreme wildfire events, this can lead to total loss of grape crop. Currently there are no effective solutions in the market to prevent the uptake of smoke compounds into grapes. In this study, previously developed innovative film coatings were tested to analyze their effectiveness in reducing smoke phenol absorption². Four different cellulose nanofiber-based film types were investigated.

The quality of wines has often been associated with their geographical area of production. The aim of this work was to characterize Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Xinomavro red wines from different geographical areas of Amyndeon and Naoussa in Northern Greece, elaborated with variables that contribute to their differentiation, such as soil characteristics, altitude, monthly average temperature and rainfall.
Xinomavro fruit parcels from different vineyards within the two PDO zones (5 PDO Naoussa and 6 PDO Amyndeon) were vinified following a standard winemaking process. A total of 25 aroma compounds were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with simultaneous full scan and selected ion monitoring for data recording, and odor activity values (OAVs) were determined.

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.