terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 AROMA ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIAL SFORZATO DI VALTELLINA WINES BYINSTRUMENTAL AND SENSORY METHODOLOGIES

AROMA ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIAL SFORZATO DI VALTELLINA WINES BYINSTRUMENTAL AND SENSORY METHODOLOGIES

Abstract

Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG is a special dry red wine produced from partially dehydrated Nebbiolo wine-grapes growing in the Rhaetian Alps valley of Valtellina (Lombardy, Italy). Valtellina terraced vineyards are located at an altitude of 350–800 m according to ‘heroic’ viticulture on steep slopes. The harvested grape bunches are naturally dehydrated indoors, where a slow and continuous withering occurs (about 20% w/w of weight loss), until at least 1st December when the grapes reach the desired sugar content and can be processed following a normal winemaking with maceration. The wines can be marketed only after 20 months of aging, of which at least 12 in wood. Despite the increasing economic importance, few studies have been published on Sforzato di Valtellina wine and to our knowledge none on volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

In this study, VOCs of Sforzato di Valtellina wine were determined by HS–SPME–GC–MS. Sensory analysis was also performed by QDA and CATA methodologies with the aim of establishing correlations between VOCs content and perceived aroma intensity and descriptors. Thirty-two wines were analyzed in 2021 from two consecutive vintages (17 wines of 2016 and 15 wines of 2017), representing wineries producing 90% by volume of this denomination.

In addition to fermentative VOCs (mainly ethyl esters and some acids), terpenes and norisoprenoids were found in contents that could potentially contribute to the aroma of Sforzato di Valtellina wines. The 2016 wines were significantly richer in total VOCs than 2017 ones, particularly regarding total norisoprenoids and fermentative esters. This result was confirmed also in sensory analysis, with 2016 wines having higher aroma intensity than 2017 ones. Despite the variability found among the wines analyzed for each vintage, some differences were reported in the contents of single compounds: vitispirane and TDN (norisoprenoids), β-pinene and linalool (terpenes), diethyl malate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate and methyl octanoate (esters), and hexanoic and octanoic acids (volatile acids). During aging, some compounds can be formed through chemical reactions depending on wine composition and storage conditions. These reactions include ester hydrolysis and formation (associated to fruity-related descriptors), hydrolysis of non-volatile glycoside precursors and chemical rearrangements of norisoprenoids and monoterpenes promoting balsamic-type descriptors, associated here mainly to vitispirane and β-pinene. Acknowledgments: Funded by PSR 2014-2020 Regione Lombardia (Italy) project no. 201901320242. We thank the Consorzio di Tutela dei Vini di Valtellina and Coldiretti Sondrio (Sondrio, Italy) for supplying the wines.

DOI:

Publication date: February 9, 2024

Issue: OENO Macrowine 2023

Type: Poster

Authors

Susana Río Segade¹, Maria Alessandra Paissoni¹, Domen Skrab¹, Simone Giacosa¹, Luca Rolle¹, Vincenzo Gerbi¹

1. University of Turin, Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, Corso Enotria 2/C, 12051 Alba (CN), Italy

Contact the author*

Keywords

volatile compounds, sensory analysis, Sforzato di Valtellina, red wine

Tags

IVES Conference Series | oeno macrowine 2023 | oeno-macrowine

Citation

Related articles…

ANTHOCYANINS EXTRACTION FROM GRAPE POMACE USING EUTECTIC SOLVENTS

Grape pomace is one of the main by-products generated after pressing in winemaking.Emerging methods, such as ultrasound-assisted extraction with eutectic mixtures, have great potential due to their low toxicity, and high biodegradability. Choline chloride (ChCl) was used as a hydrogen bond acceptor and its corresponding hydrogen bond donor (malic acid, citric acid, and glycerol: urea). Components were heated at 80 °C and stirred until a clear liquid was obtained. Distilled water was added (30 % v/v). A solid-liquid ratio of 1 g pomace per 10 ml of eutectic solvent was used.

Read More

EFFECTIVENESS OF APPLIED MATERIALS IN REDUCING THE ABSORPTION OF SMOKE MARKER COMPOUNDS IN A SIMULATED WILDFIRE SCENARIO

Smoke taint (ST) is a grape-wine off-flavour that may occur when grapes absorb volatile phenols (VPs) originating from wildfire smoke (1). ST is associated with the negative sensory attributes such as smoky and ashy notes. VPs are glycosylated in the plant and thus present in both free and bound forms (2; 3). Wildfire smoke has resulted in a decline in grape and wine quality and financial losses which has become a prominent issue for the global wine industry.

Read More

INFLUENCE OF THE THICKNESS OF OAK ALTERNATIVES ON THE COMPOSITION AND QUALITY OF RED WINES

Aging red wines in oak barrels is an expensive and laborious process that can only be applied to wines with a certain added value. For this reason, the use of oak alternatives coupled with micro-oxygenation has progressively increased over recent years, because it can reproduce the processes taking place in the barrels more economically and quickly [1]. Several studies have explored how oak alternatives [2-5] can contribute to wine composition and quality but little is known about the influence of their thickness.

Read More

ESTIMATING THE INITIAL OXYGEN RELEASE (IOR) OF CORK CLOSURES

Many factors influence aging of bottled wine, oxygen transfer through the closure is included. The maximum uptake of wine before oxidation begins varies from 60 mg.L-¹ to 180 mg.L-1 for white and red wines respectively [1].
The process of bottling may lead to considerable amounts of oxygen. The actual contribution of the transfer through the closure system becomes relevant at the bottle storage, but the amounts are small compared to prepacking operations [2] and to the total oxygen attained during filling.

Read More

THE EFFECT OF COPPER ON THE PRODUCTION OF VARIETAL THIOLS DURING THE ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION OF COLOMBARD AND GROS MANSENG GRAPE JUICES

Nowadays, the rapid growth of vineyards with organic practices and the use of copper as the only fun-gicide against downy mildew raises again the question of the effect of copper on varietal thiols in wine, especially 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3SH) and its acetate (3SHA). A few decades ago, several works indicated that the use of copper in the vineyard had a negative effect on the content of varietal thiols in Sauvignon blanc wines [1, 2]. However, these studies only considered the concentration of the reduced form (RSH) of varietal thiols, without quantifying the oxidised ones. For this purpose, we proposed to monitor both reduced and oxidised forms of varietal thiols in wine under copper stress during alcoholic fermentation to have a more complete picture of the biological and chemical mechanisms.

Read More