WINE SWIRLING: A FIRST STEP TOWARDS THE UNLOCKING OF THE WINE’STASTER GESTURE

Color is one of the key elements for the marketing of rosé wines due to their packaging in transparent bottles. Their broad color range is due to the presence of pigments belonging to phenolic compounds extracted from grapes or formed during the wine-making process. However, the mechanisms responsible for such diversity are poorly understood. The few investigations performed on rosé wines showed that their phenolic composition is highly variable, close to that of red wines for the darkest rosés but very different for light ones [1]. Moreover, large variations in the extent of color loss taking place during fermentation have been reported but the mechanisms involved and causes of such variability are unknown.

Wine complexity is considered a multidimensional yet equivocal sensory percept. This project uncovered sensory attributes Australian Chardonnay wine consumers associate with Chardonnay wine complexity
and correlations between expert and consumer perceived wine complexity and preference. A
wine consumer test examined 6 Australian Chardonnay wines of three complexity levels designated low (LC1&2), medium (MC1&2), and high (HC1&2) by an expert panel (n = 8) using a benchtop sensory task. Consumers (n = 81) rated their perceived liking using a 9-point hedonic scale; wine complexity with a 5-point scale anchored “low”, “low-medium”, “medium”, “medium-high”, and “high” and lastly, profiled the wines using Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA). Psychographic segmentation with the Fine Wine Instrument
(FWI) generated three segments; Wine Enthusiasts (WE n=29), Aspirants (ASP n=40) and No- Frills (NF n=12).

Non-Saccharomyces yeasts not only increase microbial diversity during wine fermentation, but also have a positive effect on improving wine aroma. Among these non-Saccharomyces yeast species, Metschnikowia pulcherrima is often studied and used in winemaking in recent years, but its application in icewine has been rarely reported. In this study, indigenous M. pulcherrima strains and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains (commercial and indigenous strains) were sequentially inoculated for icewine fermentations; meanwhile, pure S. cerevisiae fermentations were used as the control; indigenous strains used above were screened from spontaneous fermentations of Vidal blanc icewine.

Volatile compounds play a significant role on the organoleptic properties defining wines quality. This particular role was exploited in several studies with the aim to differentiate wines from a more or less extensive production area, according to their sensory profile [1], as well as their chemical composition [2,3] (Di Paola-Naranjo et al., 2011; Kustos et al., 2020). Indeed, since aroma compounds development in grapes depends primarily on the environmental conditions of the vines and grapes (soil and climate), it is conceivable that these parameters craft the aromatic signature of the wine produced, in relation to its origin (Van Leeuwen et al., 2020). In this work, a general study on the aromatic and sensorial profile of wines produced in five sub-regions of the Corbières denomination, a renowned red grape varieties viticultural region in South France, was reported.

Lugana wines are made from Turbiana grapes. In recent times, many white and rosé wines are bottled and stored in flint glass bottles because of commercial appeal. However, this practice could worsen the aroma profile of the wine, especially as regards the development of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). This study aims to investigate the consequences of exposure to light in flint bottles on VSCs profile of Lugana wines fermented with two different yeasts and with different post-fermentation residual nitrogen.