Smoke tainted wine – what now?

Phenolic compounds or polyphenols are the most abundant and ubiquitous secondary metabolites present in the plant kingdom with more than 8000 phenolic structures currently known. These compounds play an important role in plant growth and reproduction, providing protection against biotic and abiotic stress such as pathogen and insect attack, UV radiation and wounding. (poly)phenols are widely distributed in the human diet mainly in plant-derived food and beverages (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, tea and red wine).

Following the latest oiv global report (april 26, 2024), the prevailing perception of wine consumption finds itself undergoing one of its most challenging adjustments. It’s plausible to anticipate a shift in the scope of pdo wines towards more human-centered products (wells and stiefel, 2019), necessitating the entire sector to adapt strategies to public interest patterns (touzeau, 2010: 17-31). Previously, a dominant notion of cultural property underscored the value of wine regions; the primary interest revolved around estate owners and retailers, along with vigneron tales.

In mediterranean agriculture, sustainability and productivity are seriously threatened by climate change and water scarcity. This situation is exacerbated by poor management practices such as excessive use of agrochemicals, overgrazing, and monoculture. The Douro demarcated region (ddr) is an emblematic region, classified world heritage site by UNESCO in 2001. Viticulture is the main agricultural activity in DDR, widely known to produce port wine.

In recent years, the consumption of fine wines in Brazil has increased significantly, a phenomenon that is also reflected in the expansion of production to new regions. In the brazilian southeast for example, the so-called “winter wines” are being produced, through management in two cycles, one of formation and one of production, with two prunings and one harvest per year, a technique known as double pruning, with vineyards established at altitudes close to or above 1,000 m above sea level.

We evaluate wine ratings by comparing data from two crowdsourcing platforms – Vivino, which aggregates the opinions of a large number of wine lovers, and Global Wine Medal Rating, which aggregates the scores from more than 1030 international wine competitions since 2020.