EXPLORING RED WINE TYPICITY OF CORBIÈRES: EVALUATION OF THE DEGREE OF IMPACT OF VINIFICATION PROCESS ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ORGANOLEPTIC PROPERTIES OF WINES FROM DIFFERENT TERROIR

Aging wines is a common practice in oenology, which in recent years has undergone some innovations. Currently, we are witnessing the practice of aging bottled wine in depth, immersed in the sea or in reservoirs, for variable periods of time, but so far, little is known about the impact of aging in depth on the physicochemical properties, of wines.
The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of this practice on the physicochemical characteristics, in particular to verify changes in the volatile composition of wines bottled and subsequently immersed in depth. A red wine from Cabernet Sauvignon was bottled and a set of bottles were submerged from July to February (2020), another set of bottles were submerged from February to September (2020) and another set was kept in the wine cellar. Bottles from each set were analyzed (in triplicate) in July 2021.

Wine grape pomace quantitatively and qualitatively represents the most important fraction of wine waste. Namely, this by-product makes ~ 20% of the total mass of vinified grapes, and it is characterized with high concentrations of polyphenolic antioxidants, as well as grape seed oil. Hence, valorization of wine pomace, as an alternative to traditionally employed disposal, has drown considerable interest in recent years. Earlier studies were mostly focused on the extraction of phenolics, while mechanisms enhancing the extraction of lipid fraction from grape pomace, as well as their impact on the grape seed oil quality are far less investigated.

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.

Atmospheric oxygen (O₂) generates oxidation in wines that affect their physicochemical and sensory evolution. The O₂ uptake in the different winemaking processes is generally considered to be negative for the sensory characteristics of white and rosé wines. Wine racking is a critical point of O₂ uptake, as the large surface area of the wine exposed during this operation and the inability to maintain an effective inert gas blanket over it.
The aim was to study the uptake of O₂ during the racking of a model wine as a reference and to compare with purging the destination tank with different inert gases.

Lambrusco is a commercially successful sparkling red and rosé wine. With 13.06 million litres sold in 2021 was the second best-selling Italian wine after Chianti. According to National Catalogue of Vine Varieties there are thirteen Lambrusco Varieties with which to date are produced seven PDO wines. Among these, “Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce”, “Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro” and “Lambrusco di Sorbara” are the only ones that can be considered mono-varietal appellations, all located in Modena area. The PDOs contemplate the possibility of producing wines by secondary fermentation either in tank (Charmat method), or in bottle (Classico method). Sur lie is a third method commonly employed for Lambrusco, similar to the Classico method, from which differs for the absence of disgorgement.