Terroir 2016 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Pinot blanc: how terroir and pressing techniques impact on the must composition and wine quality

Pinot blanc: how terroir and pressing techniques impact on the must composition and wine quality

Abstract

This study investigates how different pressing techniques impact on the sensory profile of Pinot Blanc wines sourced from different terroirs.
Two vineyards, both on east slopes, one at 550 meters elevation with a high quality potential and one at 250 meters with a medium quality potential were compared. Vineyards were chosen in collaboration with the head-winemaker of the cooperative Tramin based on his observations and experience about quality potential. For the experiment 600 kg of grapes from each vineyard site were hand-picked the day before harvest for the commercial winery took place.

Grapes were stored over night at 4°C and processed in the experimental winery at Laimburg research centre the day after harvest. Three different pressing techniques were applied in duplicates of 100kg each. Treatments were composed as follows: (1) “classic”, pre-installed press program with 120 minutes and crumbling after each pressure step, (2) “cremant”, gentle and sequential press program with 180 minutes and fewer crumbling steps and (3) “maceration” consisted of a 120 minutes cold soak followed by a very quick press program of 30 minutes.

To track the evolution and extraction kinetics of pH, total acidity, tartaric acid, malic acid, total polyphenols and catechins, juice samples were taken after each cycle and analyzed right away in the wine laboratory.
At approximately 150 kPa (21,8 psi) pressure the must is divided in fraction one and fraction two what corresponds to the press-wine. Two experimental wines are made out of each batch of grapes: one contains only must from the first fraction, and the other is a combination of fraction one and two in the original proportion.

Chemical must composition depends on the vineyard site and the processing technique in the winery. Total acidity, pH, malic acid and polyphenol content of the must are affected from the chosen press program. Nonetheless the absolute content of the chemical components is different, for grapes coming from different vineyards and the different pressing techniques, the trend of the extraction of these must components remains more or less the same during the pressing procedure.

Sensory analyses and aroma analyses show a distinct profile of the two vineyard sites. The different pressing techniques had an impact on the sensory profile of the wines. To what has been observed in this experiment, for overall wine quality it was beneficial to use the entire must; wines made without the press-fraction are described as too light, not as complex and not as typical.
Important differences are observed for the two vintages shown in this work. Depending on the quality potential of the grapes and the vintage, a two hours maceration followed by a quick pressing showed interesting results. This might be a promising option to save press-capacity and to process more fruit in the short period of harvest.

DOI:

Publication date: June 24, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2016

Type: Article

Authors

Konrad Pixner

Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Laimburg, Bolzano, Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

Terroir, viticulture, Pinot Blanc, sensory analysis, wine quality

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Ceramic imprint in wine: influence of hydraulic ratio on ceramic dissolution and wine pH in amphorae systems

This interaction is primarily due to an acidic attack on the ceramic by the wine. It results in (1) the dissolution of the ceramic into the wine and the release of a wide variety of elements; and (2) an increase of the wine pH. The extent of these effects depends on the mineralogical and chemical composition of the ceramic, as well as the hydraulic ratio of the ceramic-wine system (the term hydraulic ratio (ρ) defines here the volume of wine over the surface area of the ceramic in contact with the wine).

VITOUR – The European World Heritage Vineyards

UNESCO World Heritage as the link, Europe as the area covered. VITOUR network is born on this idea, on Loire Valley Mission and InterLoire’s initiative. It gathers vineyards inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List.

Entre ce que les consommateurs disent, ce qu’ils apprécient et ce qu’ils achètent… où se situent les vins de chasselas ?

Originaire du bassin lémanique, le chasselas est l’emblème de la viticulture suisse. Pour autant, les surfaces de chasselas n’ont cessé de diminuer, passant de 6’585 hectares en 1986 à près de 3’600 aujourd’hui, reflet d’une baisse de consommation. Une récente étude a cherché à comprendre les raisons de ce désintérêt. Réalisée dans

Genomic characterization of terpene biosynthetic genes in seven Vitis vinifera L. varieties 

Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) are a fruit crop of high economic significance globally. Each grapevine cultivar is characterized by its distinctive grape aroma, affecting the wine quality. In several cultivars, the aroma is shaped by terpenoid (mono- and sesqui-terpenoids). Their profile is controlled by terpene synthases (TPS), which are part of a largely expanded gene family. How the variation in TPS copy number and sequence among cultivars determines terpenoid profiles of grapes remains largely unexplored. We annotated TPS in the haplotypes of seven genomes (Riesling, Albariño, Fiano, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Viognier) using BLAST, GMAP, PFAM, and phylogenetic analyses. Further, TPS expression patterns and terpenoid accumulation during berry development and ripening were characterized using RNA-Seq and SPME/GC-MS platforms, respectively. Variation in TPS copy number exists among cultivars. Specifically, the TPS counts span a range of 251 to 150 for Riesling and Fiano, respectively, when considering combined haplotypes within each cultivar. Total terpenoid accumulation patterns throughout development were consistent among the five aromatic cultivars, marked by high concentrations in flowers, followed by a decline and subsequent rise during berry development and ripening, respectively. Conversely, non-aromatic cultivars exhibited no substantial increase in terpenoid concentration during ripening. Transcriptome and network analyses are currently employed to determine which TPS are expressed in the berry and determine the terpenoid profile of the specific cultivar. These findings shed light on the genomic determinants of grape aroma in major cultivars, and allow future studies focused on cultivar-specific responses of terpenoid biosynthesis to environmental stresses.

Non-invasive headspace sorptive extraction for monitoring volatile compounds production by saccharomyces and non-saccharomyces strains throughout alcoholic fermentation

Wine is a solution containing abundant volatile compounds which contribute to their aroma. Many of them are produced by yeast as metabolism by-products. Different yeast strains produce different volatile profiles. The possibility of studying the evolution of volatile compounds during fermentation, using sampling methods that not alter the volume of fermentation media, is of great interest. In spite of this, non-invasive methods to monitoring the evolution of volatile profile during fermentation have been seldom used. The goals of this work were to use by first time the headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE) as non-invasive method to monitor the evolution of volatile profiles throughout alcoholic fermentation and to study the changes on volatile profiles produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lachancea thermotolerans during fermentation of a must with high sugar content.