Application of nitrogen forms such as nitrate, urea, and amino acids effects on leaf and berry physiology and wine quality

The isUP-AgrO project aims to enhance the capability of ISOPlexis – Centre of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Technology, a research unit from the University of Madeira, an outermost region of Portugal.

Phenolic compounds are important quality indicators in red wine. A large number of polyphenols play an important role in wine development, contributing to the colour and the sensory perception of the wines. Anthocyanins are the pigments responsible for the colour in young red wines while tannins are the principal contributors to the bitterness and the astringency of the wines. Wine polyphenols are considered more complex molecules than grape phenolics, due to the enormous number of chemical reactions which take place during the entire winemaking process and storage, forming more stable compounds.

Aroma and mouthfeel cues are the main characteristics defining red wine quality. During wine tasting, perceptual and physical-chemical phenomena leading to mutual interactions between volatiles and non-volatiles sensory active compounds, can occur. Aroma perception depends on the release of volatiles from wine, that is affected by wine constituents present in the medium (Pittari et al. 2021; Lyu et al. 2021). Our aim was to evaluate the effect of the non-volatile wine matrix composition (polyphenols, PPh) on the release and perception of red wine aromas by an experiment of matrix enrichment.

Determining the age of a vineyard is essential for understanding its influence on wine quality and characteristics.

Managing extraction of tannins and green aroma compounds attributed from methoxypyrazines in winemaking is crucial for producing high quality Pinot noir wine. This study1 investigated the impact of leaf removal on concentrations of anthocyanins, tannins, and methoxypyrazines in Pinot noir grapes and resultant wines.