CHARACTERIZATION OF THE AROMA PROFILE OF COMMERCIAL PROSECCO SPARKLING WINES

The color as well as the “clarity” of red wines are ones of the qualities required by the consumers. Red wines must have colloidal stability from its bottling to its consumption. The supplementation of red wines with additives, and especially Acacia senegal gum, contributes to its organoleptic properties such as the colloidal stabilization of the coloring matter. In a global perspective of limitation of additives in the field of enology, one of the objectives is notably (i) to reduce the use of additives in wines, by their number and/or their quantity, and (ii) to favor the use of natural additives while preserving the organoleptic and sensory qualities of wines.

Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a phenolic compound with extensive bioactive properties. It is present in olives, olive oil and wines. Its occurrence in wines is partly due to yeast synthetise tyrosol from tyrosine by the Ehrlich pathway, which is subsequently hydroxylated to .
The aim of the present work is to study how different yeast strains can influence in the HT production and, how the different nitrogen consumption of each strain can interfere the production of bioactive compounds.

Wines matured in contact with wood are extremely popular with consumers all over the world. Oak wood allows the organoleptic characteristics of wine to be modified. Wines are enriched with volatile and non-volatile compounds extracted from the wood. The aromas extracted from oak wood contribute to the construction of the wine’s aromatic profile and the main polyphenols extracted can modify taste perceptions such as astringency and bitterness. All the compounds extracted from the wood thus contribute to the balance and quality of the wines.

Valpolicella is a famous wine producing region in the province of Verona owing its fame above all to the production of two Protected Designation of Origins (PDOs) withered wines: Amarone and Recioto. In recent years, however, the wineries have been interested in the enhancement and qualitative increase of another PDO, Valpolicella Superiore. All the Valpolicella PDOs wines are produced with a unique grape blend, mainly Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and a range of other minor varieties.From 2019 Valpolicella product regulation has changed the grape proportion of the blend allowing new composition parameters of wines. For this reason, studying the volatile chemical profiles to support wine makers in the effort to produce high quality wines represents a field of great interest.

Climate change is likely to impact wine typicity across the globe, raising concerns in wine regions historically renowned for the quality of their terroir1. Amongst several changes in viticultural practices, replacing some of the planting material (i.e. clones, rootstocks and cultivars) is thought to be one of the most promising potential levers to be used for adapting to climate change. But the change of cultivars also involves the issue of protecting the region’s wine typicity. In Bordeaux (France), extensive research has been conducted on identifying meridional varieties that could be good candidates to help guard against the effects of climate change2 while less research has been done concerning their impacts on Bordeaux wine typicity.