Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 An exploration of South Tyrolean Pinot blanc wines and their quality potential in vineyard sites across a range of altitudes

An exploration of South Tyrolean Pinot blanc wines and their quality potential in vineyard sites across a range of altitudes

Abstract

Aim: Pinot Blanc is the third most planted white wine grape in northern Italy’s region of South Tyrol, where small-scale viticultural production permits the examination of the wine’s diverse expressive potential in a small area across a wide range of climatic variables. This study aimed to explore the qualitative potential of Pinot Blanc across a range of climatic variation leading to site-specific terroir expression in a cool climate region.

Methods and Results: Eight Pinot Blanc vineyards with individually unique terroir along the Adige Valley were chosen and monitored over the course of three years and resulting wines underwent chemical and sensory analysis. Selected quality-defining parameters were compared to four defined temperature classes and multiple harvest dates. Temperature class had a mild effect on aromatic expression of Pinot Blanc wines, with organoleptic perception of cooler sites being characterized by higher acidity and citrus aromas, while warmer sites had more prominent pear and banana aromas. Different harvest dates had a stronger impact on cooler sites, while warmer temperature classes showed little difference between time of harvest.

Conclusions:

Vineyard site temperature is less of a principle driver of wine expression in Pinot Blanc than time of harvest, which has a stronger impact on cooler vineyard sites, where achieving a certain technical ripeness is paramount to producing high quality, typical wines. To mitigate the effects of climate change, it may be beneficial for warmer wine producing regions with narrowly defined typicity and limited climactic variation to employ earlier harvest protocols. 

Significance and Impact of the Study: Mountainous regions provide the opportunity for agricultural activity at higher altitudes, where cooler conditions and earlier harvest dates could potentially mitigate the deleterious effects of rising temperatures on grapevines and preserve the typical organoleptic qualities associated with wines from these regions.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: March 17, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Amy Kadison1*, Fenja Hinz1, Samanta Michelini3, Ulrich Pedri1, Eva Überegger2, Valentina Lazazzara3, Peter Robatscher4, Selena Tomada5, Martin Zejfart1, Florian Haas3

1Department of Enology, Laimburg Research Centre, Laimburg 6, 39040, Pfatten/Vadena, South Tyrol, Italy
2Wine and Beverages Laboratory, Laimburg Research Centre, Laimburg 6, 39040, Pfatten/Vadena, South Tyrol, Italy
3Department of Viticulture, Laimburg Research Centre, Laimburg 6, 39040, Pfatten/Vadena, South Tyrol, Italy
4Flavours and Metabolites Laboratory, Laimburg Research Centre at NOI TechPark, A.-Volta-Straße 13/A, 39100 Bozen/Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy
5Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitätsplatz 5/Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bozen/Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

Pinot Blanc, climate change, terroir, typicity, sensory profiling

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

Reconocimiento geoedafológico para la zonificación vitivinícola de la D.O. Montilla-Moriles

En la región vitivinícola con D.O. Montilla-Moriles (Córdoba) la variabilidad geologico-petrográfica de los terrenos es grande (ROLDÁN GARCÍA y DIVAR RODRÍGUEZ, 1988 a; roldán garcía et al.

Read More

Mobilizing endogenous transposable elements for grapevine improvement: a genomic and epigenomic approach in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

Efforts to improve the New Zealand wine industry’s climate resilience and sustainability through grapevine improvement are limited by germplasm availability and a reliance on Sauvignon Blanc exports. To address this, we are working to generate a population of 12,000 individuals with unique genetic traits, from which to select future clones for major export varieties.

Sauvignon Blanc plantlets are being regenerated from embryogenic callus, using an approach designed to mobilise endogenous transposable elements as mutagens.

Read More

Dynamics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae population in spontaneous fermentations from Granxa D’Outeiro terroir (DOP Ribeiro, NW Spain)

Granxa D’Outeiro is a recovered ancient vineyard located in the heart of DOP Ribeiro, where traditional white grapevine varieties are growing under sustainable management. Spontaneous fermentations using grape must from Treixadura, Albariño, Lado, Godello, and Loureira varieties were carried out at experimental winery of Evega. Yeasts were isolated from must and at different stages of fermentation. Those colonies belonging to Saccharomyces cerevisiae were characterized at strain level by mDNA-RFLPs.

Read More

Olfactometric and sensory study of red wines subjected to ultrasound or microwaves during their elaboration

The effect that some extraction techniques, such as ultrasound (Cacciola, Batllò, Ferraretto, Vincenzi, & Celotti, 2013; Povey & McClements, 1988) or microwaves (Carew, Close, & Dambergs, 2015; Carew, Gill, Close, & Dambergs, 2014) produce on the aroma of red wines, when applied to processes of extractive nature, such as pre-fermentative maceration or ageing with oak chips (Spanish oak – Quercus pyrenaica and French oak – Quercus robur) has been studied. The volatile profile was determined by means of gas chromatography coupled with olfactometric and mass spectrometric detection. A sensory analysis was also carried out. No indications were found to show that the pre-fermentative treatment with microwaves or ultrasound modified the sensory profile of the wines whereas the application of such energies during the ageing phase showed some positive trends at sensory level.

Read More

Dissecting the dual role of light regarding the plasticity of grape physiology and gene regulation through daylength simulation in a semi-arid region

Context and purpose of the study. Daylength is a key climatic factor within the terroir concept. However, the complex interplay of multiple variables in regions with varying daylengths makes it challenging to isolate and investigate this specific factor.

Read More