Terroir 2014 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Feminin vs masculin: the sensorial opposition between chambolle-musigny and gevrey-chambertin wines and the socioeconomical construction of a terroir/taste wine paradigm

Feminin vs masculin: the sensorial opposition between chambolle-musigny and gevrey-chambertin wines and the socioeconomical construction of a terroir/taste wine paradigm

Abstract

At least since de XIXth century, wine writers oppose quite often the wines from Gevrey-Chambertin to the wines from Chambolle-Musigny claiming that the former are more “masculine” (full-bodied, powerful tannins, leathery, rustic…) and the later more “feminine” (delicate, elegant, silky, flowery…). It is generally accepted that these sensory differences are the consequence of terroir differences between these two appellations. Our study, combining sensory sciences, psychology and history, aimed to check whether the above mentioned lexical dichotomy was nowadays likely to be found in the taste of the wines of these two appellations. In order to answer these questions 4 wines from Chambolle-Musigny and 4 wines from Gevrey-Chambertin was submitted to two sensory tasks. A panel of oenophiles performed first a blind sensory profile using a number of attributes related to the masculine or feminine character of the tannins.

The results of the sensory profile showed that the samples were not segmented by appellation and that the masculine/feminine character was not correlated with the appellation either. The panelists were then asked to categorize them into two groups explicitly named “Chambolle-Musigny” and “Gevrey-Chambertin”. We hypothesized that the feminine/masculine character of the wines would help the tasters to correctly categorize the wines. The results showed that only one of the samples was correctly categorized. Three explanations are plausible: our tasters do not have a precise idea of what is the taste of a Chambolle or a Gevrey wine; most of our samples were not representative of their respective appellations; the dichotomy Chambolle/feminine vs Gevrey/masculine do not have a sensory reality nowadays despite the fact that our panelist declare in a short questionnaire that they believe in the masculine vs feminine lexical dichotomy. In order to better understand our results we conducted a historical study on the construction of Burgundy appellations and the mental representation of those appellations that wine consumers have during XIXth et XXth century.

This study showed that the evolution of wine production and trade norms during the XIXth resulted in a marketing and cultural creation of those two different sensory identities by wine prescribers (wine producers, wine writers, INAO). The subsequent birth and development of French appellations will promote and, in finally, anchor, the idea between the terroir and the taste of the wine, of which Gevrey and Chambolle became one of the most salient examples.

DOI:

Publication date: August 18, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2014

Type: Article

Authors

Jordi BALLESTER (1), Olivier JACQUET (2)

(1) Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l´Alimentation, UMR6265 CNRS – Inra-UD, 9E Boulevard Jeanne d´Arc, 21000 Dijon, France, Chaire UNESCO « Culture et Traditions du Vin » de l’Université de Bourgogne.
(2) IUVV Jules Guyot, Université de Bourgogne, 1 rue Claude Ladrey, 21078 Dijon, Chaire UNESCO « Culture et Traditions du Vin » de l’Université de Bourgogne

Contact the author

Keywords

terroir, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, sensory analysis, history masculine, feminine

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2014

Citation

Related articles…

Permanent cover cropping with reduced tillage increased resiliency of wine grape vineyards to climate change

Majority of California’s vineyards rely on supplemental irrigation to overcome abiotic stressors. In the context of climate change, increases in growing season temperatures and crop evapotranspiration pose a risk to adaptation of viticulture to climate change. Vineyard cover crops may mitigate soil erosion and preserve water resources; but there is a lack of information on how they contribute to vineyard resiliency under tillage systems. The aim of this study was to identify the optimum combination of cover crop sand tillage without adversely affecting productivity while preserving plant water status. Two experiments in two contrasting climatic regions were conducted with two cover crops, including a permanent short stature grass (P. bulbosa hybrid), barley (Hordeum spp), and resident vegetation under till vs. no-till systems in a Ruby Cabernet (V. vinifera spp.) (Fresno) and a Cabernet Sauvingon (Napa) vineyard. Results indicated that permanent grass under no-till preserved plant available water until E-L stage 17. Consequently, net carbon assimilation of the permanent grass under no-till system was enhanced compared to those with barley and resident vegetation. On the other hand, the barley under no-till system reduced grapevine net carbon assimilation during berry ripening that led to lower content of nonstructural carbohydrates in shoots at dormancy. Components of yield and berry composition including flavonoid profile at either site were not adversely affected by factors studied. Switching to a permanent cover crop under a no-till system also provided a 9% and 3% benefit in cultural practices costs in Fresno and Napa, respectively. The results of this work provides fundamental information to growers in preserving resiliency of vineyard systems in hot and warm climate regions under context of climate change.

L’essor des produits “No-Low” : nouveaux défis pour l’étiquetage et la réglementation

In recent years, “no-low” products seem to become a new worldwide trend. It appears to be a possible answer to the well-known context of climate change, the decline in wine consumption, and the wellness/health trend (“free from” claims, vegan, and so on…) That consumers are looking for. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the “no-low” products sold in the french market (but not only french products), focusing on the labelling, packaging, and sales presentation of these products.

Territorial delimitation of viticultural “Oltrepo Pavese (Lombardy)” using grape ripening precocity

L’Oltrepò Pavese est une zone de collines de la Lombardie, région située au nord de l’Italie avec un vignoble qui s’étend sur près de 15 000 ha. Cette zone représente la plus grande aire de production de la région et une des A.O.C. les plus étendues de tout le pays. Les cépages les plus cultivés, même historiquement, sont autochtones : la Barbera et la Croatina utilisés pour la production de vin rouge «Oltrepò» et le Pinot noir pour la production de vins mousseux. Pour le zonage viticole de cette A.O.C., il a été pris en considération: le climat, les sols, les caractéristiques viti-vinicoles.

Unravelling Saccharomyces cerevisiae biosynthethic pathways of melatonin, serotonin and hydroxytyrosol  by UPLC-HRMS Isotopic labelling analysis

The main objective is to unravel the yeast biosynthetic pathways for MEL, SER and HT by using the respective labelled amino acids precursors: 15N2-L tryptophan and 13C-tyrosine.
The alcoholic fermentation experiments are performed with two different commercial
S cereviseae yeasts using synthetic must with the addition of the labelled compounds and the bioactive compounds were followed during the fermentation process. Six biological replicates of the fermentations were considered. MEL, SER and HT were analysed by UHPLC coupled to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS). Accurate mass determination allowed to unequivocally distinguishing labelled and unlabelled compounds.

Impact of canopy management on thiol precursors in white grapes: a six-year field study

The mechanisms behind thiol precursor accumulation in grapes remain incompletely understood, nor are the ways in which they can be improved by agronomic practices. A six-year field trial studied the physiological response of the Swiss white cultivar Vitis vinifera Arvine, rich in varietal thiols and precursors, to canopy management, i.e. leaf removal and canopy height.. Five treatments were set up in a randomized block design to assess the impacts of 1) pre-flowering LR (i.e. pre-flowering or full-flowering stages) and 2) compensating for the leaf area removed in the cluster zone by increasing the trimming height (i.e. 100 or 150 cm canopy height), compared with a non-defoliated control treatment.
Intensive pre-flowering LR severely reduced yield potential (–47% on average) and reduced the concentration of 3-mercaptohexanol precursors (P-3MH) in the must (–21%; p-value < 0.10).