Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Distinguishing of red wines from Northwest China by colour-flavour related physico-chemical indexes

Distinguishing of red wines from Northwest China by colour-flavour related physico-chemical indexes

Abstract

Aim: Northwest China occupies an important position in China’s wine regions due to its superior geographical conditions with dry climate and sufficient sunlight. In this work, we aimed to investigate the physico-chemical colour and flavour characteristics of red wine in Northwest China.

Methods and Results: A total of 196 commercial dry red wines from Ningxia autonomous region, Gansu province and Xinjiang autonomous region in Northwest China were sampled. Spectro-analysis and chemical titration were used to quantify physico-chemical indicators related to wine colour and flavour, including total anthocyanins, co-pigments, monomeric anthocyanins, polymeric anthocyanins, ionisation index, CIE color space, total phenols, flavonol, ethanol index, total tannin, gelatin index, HCl index, DPPH antioxidant activity, tartrate ester, titratable acid, and pH value. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the data showed that wine samples in Ningxia, Gansu and Xinjiang region had obvious clustering phenomena. Among them, total anthocyanin and polymeric anthocyanins in Ningxia wines were higher compared to other wines. Ningxia wines also had the highest total acids and lighter colour whereas Gansu wines had greater amounts of monomeric anthocyanins, co-pigments and phenolic indexes. Gansu wines were darker in colour with the highest pH values. The parameters of Xinjiang wines were ranged between Ningxia wines and Gansu wines. PCA also showed good discriminant results on wine vintages. Wines older than 3 years had more polymeric anthocyanins and stable colour whilst younger wines had more total anthocyanin and monomeric anthocyanin with brighter colour. In addition, younger wines had the highest phenolics. Grape cultivars also contributed to the difference of colour and flavour associated indexes. Among them, Cabernet Sauvignon wines displayed distinct characteristics compared to other wines. Values of total anthocyanins, DPPH antioxidant activity, ionisation index, Cab and HCl acid indexes of Cabernet Sauvignon wines were higher than those of other wines. Finally, a convolutional neuralnetwork model was used to discriminate and analyses the categorical data of wines. These data were standardized and analysised using TensorFlow. The corresponding fitness indexes were 99.14%, 90.52%, and 89.66% from Northwest China based on region, cultivar, and vintage.

Conclusions: 

Colour and flavour associated indexes of wines from Northwest China are strongly impacted by wine regions, cultivars, and vintages.

Significance and Impact of the Study: Wine regions in Northwest China are developing drastically in recent decades, however relevant criteria of colour-flavour quality to help manipulate winemaking practices are lacking in local wineries to ensure the quality of wine style. Our results highlighted the possibility of establishing such wine quality criteria specially for Northwest China based on building a discrimination model on wine physico-chemical related indicators.

DOI:

Publication date: March 17, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Yu Zhao1, Guojie Jin1, Jiao Jiang1, Shijin Xue1, Kai Hu1*, Yongsheng Tao1,2*

College of Enology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
Shaanxi Engineering Research Center for Viti-viniculture, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China

Contact the author

Keywords

Wine region, spectro-analysis, discrimination analysis, neural network analysis, colour-flavour physico-chemical indicators

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

How does aromatic composition of red wines, resulting from varieties adapted to climate change, modulate fruity aroma?

One of the major issues for the wine sector is the impact of climate change linked to the increasing temperatures which affects physicochemical parameters of the grape varieties planted in Bordeaux vineyard and consequently, the quality of wine. In some varietals, the attenuation of their fresh fruity character is accompanied by the accentuation of dried-fruit notes [1]. As a new adaptive strategy on climate change, some winegrowers have initiated changes in the Bordeaux blend of vine varieties [2]. This study intends to explore the fruitiness in wines produced from grape varieties adapted to the future climate of Bordeaux. 10 commercial single–varietal wines from 2018 vintage made from the main grape varieties in the Bordeaux region (Cabernet franc, Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot) as well as from indigenous grape varieties from the Mediterranean basin, such as Cyprus (Yiannoudin), France (Syrah), Greece (Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro), Portugal (Touriga Nacional) and Spain (Garnacha and Tempranillo), were selected among 19 samples using sensory descriptive analyses. Both sensory and instrumental analyses were coupled, to investigate their fruity aroma expression. For sensory analysis, samples were prepared from wine, using a semi preparative HPLC method which preserves wine aroma and isolates fruity characteristics in 25 specific fractions [3,4]. Fractions of interest with intense fruity aromas were sensorially selected for each wine by a trained panel and mixed with ethanol and microfiltered water to obtain fruity aromatic reconstitutions (FAR) [5]. A free sorting task was applied to categorize FAR according to their similarities or dissimilarities, and different clusters were highlighted. Instrumental analysis of the different FAR and wines demonstrated variations in their molecular composition. Results obtained from sensory and gas chromatography analysis enrich the knowledge of the fruity expression of red wines from “new” grape varieties opening up new perspectives in wine technology, including blending, thus providing new tools for producers.

Climate projections over France wine-growing region and its potential impact on phenology

Climate change represents a major challenge for the French wine industry. Climatic conditions in French vineyards have already changed and will continue to evolve. One of the notable effects on grapevine is the advancing growing season. The aim of this study is to characterise the evolution of agroclimatic indicators (Huglin index, number of hot days, mean temperature, cumulative rainfall and number of rainy days during the growing season) at French wine-growing regions scale between 1980 and 2019 using gridded data (8 km resolution, SAFRAN) and for the middle of the 21th century (2046-2065) with 21 GCMs statistically debiased and downscaled at 8 km. A set of three phenological models were used to simulate the budburst (BRIN, Smoothed-Utah), flowering, veraison and theoretical maturity (GFV and GSR) stages for two grape varieties (Chardonnay and Cabernet-Sauvignon) over the whole period studied. All the French wine-growing regions show an increase in both temperatures during the growing season and Huglin index. This increase is accompanied by an advance in the simulated flowering (+3 to +9 days), veraison (+6 to +13 days) and theoretical maturity (+6 to +16 days) stages, which are more noticeable in the north-eastern part of France. The climate projections unanimously show, for all the GCMs considered, a clear increase in the Huglin index (+662 to 771 °C.days compared to the 1980-1999 period) and in the number of hot days (+5.6 to 22.6 days) in all the wine regions studied. Regarding rainfall, the expected evolution remains very uncertain due to the heterogeneity of the climates simulated by the 21 models. Only 4 regions out of 21 have a significant decrease in the number of rainy days during the growing season. The two budburst models show a strong divergence in the evolution of this stage with an average difference of 18 days between the two models on all grapevine regions. The theoretical maturity is the most impacted stage with a potential advance between 40 and 23 days according to wine-growing regions.

Sustainable fertilisation of the vineyard in Galicia (Spain)

Excessive fertilization of the vineyard leads to low quality grapes, increased costs and a negative impact on the environment. In order to establish an integrated management system aimed at a sustainable fertilization of the vineyards, nutritional reference levels were established. For this purpose, 30 representative vineyards of the Albariño variety were studied, in which soil and petiole analyses were carried out for two years and grape yield and quality at harvest were measured. In both years of study, soil pH, calcium, sodium and cation exchange capacity were positively correlated with calcium content and negatively correlated with manganese in grapes. Irrigated vineyards had higher levels of aluminium in soil and lower levels of calcium in petiole. Climatic conditions were very different in the years of the study. The year 2019 was colder than usual, in 2020 there was a marked water stress with high summer temperatures. This resulted in medium-high acidity in grapes in 2019 and low acidity in 2020, with sugar levels being similar both years. A very marked decrease in must amino nitrogen was observed in 2020, with ammonia nitrogen remaining stable. The correlation of acidity and sugar values in grapes with soil and petiole analysis data made it possible to establish reference levels for the nutritional diagnosis of the Albariño variety in this region. Based on these results, an easy-to-use TIC application is currently being created for grapegrowers, aimed at improving the sustainability of the vineyard through reasoned fertilization. This study has now been extended to other Galician vine varieties.

Characterization of variety-specific changes in bulk stomatal conductance in response to changes in atmospheric demand and drought stress

In wine growing regions around the world, climate change has the potential to affect vine transpiration and overall vineyard water use due to related changes in atmospheric demand and soil water deficits. Grapevines control their transpiration in response to a changing environment by regulating conductance of water through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Most vineyard water use models currently estimate vine transpiration by applying generic crop coefficients to estimates of reference evapotranspiration, but this does not account for changes in vine conductance associated with water stress, nor differences thought to exist between varieties. The response of bulk stomatal conductance to daily weather variability and seasonal drought stress was studied on Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo, Ugni blanc, and Semillon vines in a non-irrigated vineyard in Bordeaux France. Whole vine sap flow, temperature and humidity in the vine canopy, and net radiation absorbed by the vine canopy were measured on 15-minute intervals from early July through mid-September 2020, together with periodic measurement of leaf area, canopy porosity, and predawn leaf water potential. From this data, bulk stomatal conductance was calculated on 15-minute intervals, and multiple regression analysis was performed to identify key variables and their relative effect on conductance. Attention was focused on addressing multicollinearity and time-dependency in the explanatory variables and developing regression models that were readily interpretable. Variability of vapor pressure deficit over the day, and predawn water potential over the season explained much of the variability in conductance, with relative differences in response coefficients observed across the five varieties. By characterizing this conductance response, the dynamics of vine transpiration can be better parameterized in vineyard water use modeling of current and future climate scenarios.

Local adaptation tools to ensure the viticultural sustainability in a changing climate

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...