GiESCO 2019 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 GiESCO 9 GiESCO 2019 9 Impact of crop load management on terpene content in gewürztraminer grapes

Impact of crop load management on terpene content in gewürztraminer grapes

Abstract

Context and purpose of the study ‐ Crop load management by cluster thinning can improve ripening and the concentration of key metabolites for grape and wine quality. However, little work has been done on testing the impact of crop load management on terpene content of white grapes. The goal of the study was to assess if by reducing crop load via cluster thinning growers can increase terpene concentration of grapes, as well as to test if the timing of thinning application affects terpene concentration.

Material and methods ‐ This study was performed in 2016, 2017, and 2018 in Oliver, British Columbia. Field‐grown Gewürztraminer vines were cluster‐thinned at two developmental stages, just after fruit‐set (Early Thinning) and at veraison (Late Thinning), in order to target three crop levels: Light Crop (7 tons/ha), Moderate Crop (10.5 tons/ha), and High Crop (14 tons/ha). Treatments were replicated on five plots arranged in a randomized block design. The effect of treatments on leaf gas exchanges, vine leaf area, and berry sugar (total soluble solid, TSS), acid (titratable acidity, TA), and terpene concentration was analyzed during ripening and at harvest. Free and glycosylated terpenes were identified and quantified using a SPME‐GC‐MS and a LI‐GC‐MS, respectively.

Results ‐ Crop level treatmentsdid not affect leaf gas exchanges and vine leaf area. TSS concentration during ripening and at harvest was higher in Light Crop and Moderate Crop treatments than in High Crop, particularly for Early Thinning treatments. High Crop and Light Crop‐Early Thinning determined the highest free terpene concentration at harvest; however, a significant interaction between treatment and year effects was observed. Total glycosylated terpenes at harvest were marginally affected by treatments (P = 0.063), and Light Crop‐Early Thinning determined the highest total glycosylated terpene concentration. Interestingly, total free terpenes were significantly affected by the treatments at the sampling before harvest (20‐21 Brix), when Light Crop‐Early Thinning determined a higher concentration of total free terpenes than High Crop. This result was consistently among the three years. Our study suggests that crop load management can be used as a tool to improve grape terpenes in scenarios (regions and/or seasons) where ripening is impaired and grapes cannot reach relatively high sugar levels. 

DOI:

Publication date: June 19, 2020

Issue: GIESCO 2019

Type: Article

Authors

Yevgen KOVALENKO, Ricco TINDJAU, Simone Diego CASTELLARIN

Wine Research Centre, The University of British Columbia, 2205 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T0C1,Canada

Contact the author

Keywords

Aroma, Grapevine, Ripening, Thinning, Yield

Tags

GiESCO 2019 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Grape seed flavanols extraction and mechanical-acoustic properties as influenced by maceration time and ethanol content

AIM: Grape flavanols are involved in wine quality markers such as in-mouth sensations and colour stability.

Pruned vine biomass exclusion from a clay loam vineyard soil – examining the impact on physical/chemical properties

The wine industry worldwide faces increasing challenges to achieve sustainable levels of carbon emission mitigation. This project seeks to establish the feasibility of harvesting winter pruned vineyard biomass (PVB) for potential use in carbon footprint reduction, through its use as a renewable biofuel for energy production. In order to make this recommendation, technical issues such as the potential environmental impact, chemical composition and fuel suitability, and logistical challenges of harvesting biomass needs to be understood to compare with the results from similar studies. Of particular interest is the role PVB plays as a carbon source in vineyard soils and what effect annual removal might have on soil carbon sequestration. A preliminary trial was established in the Waite Campus vineyard (University of Adelaide) to test current management strategies. Vines are grown in a Eutrophic, Red Dermosol clay loam soil with well managed midrow swards. A comparison was undertaken of mid-row treatments in two 0.25 Ha blocks (Shiraz and Semillon), including annual cultivation for seed bed preparation, the deliberate exclusion of PVB (25 years) and incorporation of PVB (13 years) at an average of 3.4 and 5.5 Mg/Ha-1 for Shiraz and Semillon respectively. In both 0-10cm and 10-30cm soil core sample depths, combined soil carbon % measures in the desired range of 1.80 to 3.50, were not significantly different between treatments or cultivars and yielded an estimated 42 Mg/ha-1 of sequestered soil carbon. Other key physical and chemical measures were likewise not significantly different between treatments. Preliminary results suggest that in a temperate zone vineyard, managed such as the one used in this study, there is no long term negative impact on soil carbon sequestration through removing PVB. This implies that growers could confidently harvest PVB for use in several end fates including as a bio fuel.

Assyrtiko wines of Santorini produced by different autochthonous yeasts: Differences in aromatic and organoleptic profiles

Different yeasts were isolated from spontaneous fermentation of Assyrtiko grape must in Santorini Island, Greece. Molecular typing revealed the presence of three Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains (S9, S13, S24) and one strain of the yeast species Nakazawaea ishiwadae (N.i). The four isolated strains were further tested in laboratory scale fermentations of Assyrtiko must in pure inoculation cultures and in sequential inoculation (72 hours) of each S. cerevisiae strain with the strain of N. ishiwadae. All fermentation trials were realised in duplicate.

Zonage viticole des surfaces potentielles dans la vallée Centrale de Tarija (Bolivie)

La présente étude de zonage viticole a été faite dans la région de la vallée Central de Tarija(VCT), dans la ville de Tarija, au Sud de la Bolivie; une région avec plus de 400 années de tradition qui présente une vitiviniculture de haute qualité. La Vallée possède une surface total de 332 milles ha.; existant des vignobles entre 1660 y 2300 m.s.n.m. et dans ce rang d’altitude il existe 91 mille ha.

Red wine oxidation study by accelerating ageing tests and electrochemical method

Red wines can undergo many undesirable changes during the winemaking process and storage, particularly oxidative degradation due to numerous atmospheric oxygen intakes. This spoilage can impact organoleptic properties and color stabilization but this impact depends on the wine composition. Phenolic compounds constitute primary targets to oxidation reactions