The history of the first demarkated wine region of the world – the Tokaj wine region

The wine region of “Vinhos da Campanha” is located in southern Brazil, on the Uruguay borderline. The colonization’s process in the region was characterized by territorial disputes between Portuguese

Schiava cv. (germ. Vernatsch) is a group of grape varieties used for winemaking (e.g. Kleinvernatsch-Schiava gentile, Grauvernatsch-Schiava grigia, Edelvernatsch-Schiava grossa) historically reported in Northern Italy, Austria, Germany and Croatia. Beside common phenotypic traits, these varieties have been also hypothesized to share a common geographical origin in Slavonia (Eastern Croatia). Nowadays, Schiava cv. are considered historical grape varieties of northern regions of Italy such as Lombardy, Trentino and South Tyrol. Traditionally widely consumed locally and also exported, over the past decades there has been a steady drop in production of these grapes, although with a parallel increase in wine quality. In this report, the effects of three main enological variables on the chemical components of Schiava produced in South Tyrol (var. Schiava grossa) are investigated from grape to bottle.

Most vineyards are grafted and include a variety (Vitis vinifera) grafted over a wild Vitis rootstock (hybrids of V. berlandieri, riparia and rupestris). Grape berry quality at harvest depends on a subtle balance between acidity and the concentrations of sugars, polyphenols and precursors of aroma compounds. The mechanisms controlling the balance of sugars/acids/polyphenols are influenced by the abiotic environment, in particular nitrogen supply, and interact with the genotypes of both the scion variety and the rootstock. Previous work suggests that some of the effects of water stress are in fact linked to a nitrogen deficiency driven indirectly by the reduction of water absorption.

La caratterizzazione della frazione volatile aromatica dei vini attraverso l’analisi quali­quantitativa dei diversi composti, ha portato corne primo risultato la netta differenziazione delle annate in prova.

Although some wine production processes still rely on post-production evaluation and off-site laboratory analysis, the new winemaking industry is aware of a need for a better knowledge of the process to improve the properties of the final product. Thus, more and more wineries are interested in incorporating quality-by-design (QbD) strategies instead of postproduction testing because of the possibility to early detect deviations in fermentation or any other wine process. This would allow to detect unwanted situations and eventually to ‘readjust’ the process, thus minimizing rejects.