Interest and impact of PVP/PVI (Polyvinylpyrrolidone/ Polyvinylimidazole) on winemaking and final quality of wines

Three compounds, 3-mercaptohexanol (3MH), 3-mercaptohexyl-acetate (3MHA) and 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), also known as varietal thiols, have been identified to contribute positively to wine aroma and are responsible for the distinct gooseberry, grapefruit, guava and box tree character found in Sauvignon blanc wines. Certain volatile thiol compounds though, can cause off-aromas of onion, garlic, rubber and rotten egg, this group of molecules is known as reductive sulphur compounds (RSC). This study looks into how the addition of sulphur-compounds to Sauvignon blanc juice contributes to the varietal thiol (3MH and 3MHA) concentration and reductive sulphur compound concentration in South African Sauvignon blanc wine.

During the tasting of a fine, old wine, the aromas generated in the glass are intertwined in an intimate, complex manner, expressing the fragrance of the aging bouquet. This aging bouquet, which develops during bottle storage through a complex transformation process, may result in a broad palette of nuances. Among these, undergrowth, truffle, toasted, spicy, licorice, fresh red- and black-berry fruit and mint descriptors were recently identified as features of its olfactory representation for red Bordeaux wines. Although a targeted chemical approach focusing on volatile sulfur compounds revealed the role played by dimethyl sulfide, 2-furanmethanethiol, and 3-sulfanylhexanol as molecular markers of the typicality of the wine aging bouquet of red Bordeaux wines, its chemical transcription has only partially been elucidated.

Green cover in vine rows provides many ecological services, but can also negatively impact the crop, depending on the weed species. The composition of a vineyard weed community is influenced by many parameters. Ensuring an evolution of the vine row flora into a desired direction is therefore very complex. A key step towards this goal is to know which factors influence the establishment of the weed community and which types of communities are best suited for vineyards. In this study, we analysed the weed communities of several vineyards in the Lake Geneva region (379 botanical surveys on 117 plots), with the aim to highlight the links between soil management practices (chemical and mechanical weeding, mowing, mulching roll) and phytosociological profiles, biodiversity and selected functional traits (growth forms, life strategies, root depth). T

The grapevine is an important economical crop that is very sensitive to climate changes and microclimate. The observations made during the last decades at a vineyard scale all concur to show the impact of climate change on vine physiology, resulting in accelerated phenology and earlier harvest (Jones and Davis 2000). It is well-known that berry content is affected by the ambient temperature. While the first experiences were primarily conducted on the impact of temperature on anthocyanin accumulation in the grape, few studies have focused on others component of phenolic metabolism, such as tannins.

The production of red sparkling wines is lower in Spain in comparison with the winemaking of white or rosé sparkling wines. In red sparkling wine processing it is essential to obtain suitable base wines that should have moderate alcohol content, high acidity, good color values, an adequate mouth-feel and a sweet tannin. Grapes for sparkling wine production have to be harvested at low maturity stages, with lower alcohol contents and higher acidities, which will that the phenolic maturity of the grapes is also low, showing green tannins. This paper analyses different treatments in order to minimize these inconveniences: cold maceration-prefermentation and delestage to elaborate the grapes with lower maturity, must nanofiltration, and the partial osmosis of the wines made from grapes with an adequate maturity degree.