INFLUENCE OF WINEMAKING VARIABLES AND VINEYARD LOCATIONS ON CHEMICAL AND SENSORY PROFILES OF SOUTH TYROLEAN PINOT BLANC

The positive contribution of toasted vine-shoots (SEGs, Shoot from vines – Enological – Granule) used in winemaking to the chemical and sensory profile of wines has been widely proven. However, the combination of this new enological tool with other winemaking technologies, such as micro-oxygenation (MOX), has not been studied so far. It is known that micro-oxygenation is used in wineries to stabilizes color, improves structure or combining with oak alternatives products to achieve a more effective aroma integration of wines. For that, its implementation in combination with SEGs could result in differentiated wines.

Oenococcus oeni is the main lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species which conducts the malolactic fermentation (MLF) in wine. During MLF, O. oeni converts malic acid into lactic acid, which modulates wine aroma composition leading to better balanced organoleptic properties. O. oeni is a highly specialized species only detected in environments containing alcohol such as wine, cider or kombucha. Genome analysis of more than 240 strains showed that they form at least 4 main phylogenetic lineages and several sublineages, which are associated with different beverages or types of wines.

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.

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.

Water deficit and salinity are increasingly affecting the viticulture and wine industry. These two stresses are intimately related; understanding the physiological and metabolic responses of grapevines to water deficit, salinity and combined stress is critical for developing strategies to mitigate the nega- tive impacts of these stresses on wine grape production. These strategies can include selecting more tolerant grapevine cultivars and graft combinations, improving irrigation management, and using soil amendments to reduce the effects of salinity. For this purpose, understanding the response of grape- vine metabolism to altered water balance and salinity is of pivotal importance.