Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Regionality in Australian Shiraz: Sensory profiles of wines from six regions and their associations with chemical, geographical and climatic elements

Regionality in Australian Shiraz: Sensory profiles of wines from six regions and their associations with chemical, geographical and climatic elements

Abstract

Aim: Regional characters relating to Shiraz in Australia are not well documented. This study aimed to characterize the sensory, chemical and climate profiles of wines from various Australian Shiraz producing regions. 

Methods and Results: Sets of wines (22 to 28) from six prominent Australian Shiraz producing regions were assessed by groups of regional winemakers using a rapid sensory method called Pivot© Profile (PP) to obtain biplots of their sensory characteristics. Three or four samples from each region were selected using Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) analysis of the PP data resulting in a subset of twenty-two wines, which were then assessed using sensory descriptive analysis. A comprehensive chemical profile was also undertaken, including monoterpenes, norisoprenoids, low molecular weight sulphur compounds, oak volatiles, esters, and non-volatile compounds. Seventeen season-specific climate indices were also complied for each sample. Multivariate analyses (Principal Component Analysis and Partial Least-Squares Regression) showed that wines with stalky/cooked vegetal sensory attributes had higher cinnamate esters and dimethylsulfide, relating to a later budbreak and harvest day; wines with higher monoterpenes were associated with floral aroma; higher solar radiation was linked to higher tannin and colour density values, norisoprenoid and phenylethyl acetate concentrations and an association with dark fruit/dried fruit and tannin/colour attributes. 

Conclusions:

Distinctive sensory and chemical fingerprints exist for the specific regions studied, and the climatic profiles were strongly associated with key compounds influencing sensory differences. 

Significance and Impact of Study: Relating multiple site- and season-specific climate measures to chemical composition and characteristic sensory attributes of regional Australian Shiraz wines can help grape growers, winemakers and wine marketers better understand and promote the effect of place on their wines. 

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: March 17, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Wes Pearson1,2*, Leigh Schmidtke1, I. Leigh Francis2, Sijing Li1, Andrew Hall1,3, B. Thomas Carr1,4, John Blackman1

1National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Charles Sturt University, School of Agricultural and Wine Science, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia
2The Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
3Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia
4Carr Consulting, 1215 Washington Ave., Wilmette, Illinois, USA

Contact the author

Keywords

Wine regionality, Australian Shiraz, wine sensory profile, wine chemical profile, wine climate profile

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

MAPPING THE CONCENTRATIONS OF GASEOUS ETHANOL IN THE HEADSPACE OF CHAMPAGNE GLASSES THROUGH INFRARED LASER ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

Under standard wine tasting conditions, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) responsible for the wine’s bouquet progressively invade the glass headspace above the wine surface. Most of wines being complex water/ethanol mixtures (with typically 10-15 % ethanol by volume), gaseous ethanol is therefore undoubtedly the most abundant VOC in the glass headspace [1]. Yet, gaseous ethanol is known to have a multimodal influence on wine’s perception [2]. Of particular importance to flavor perception is the effect of ethanol on the release of aroma compounds into the headspace of the beverage [1].

Read More

Soils and plant material in prestigious Bordeaux vineyards impacts on yield and quality

High resolution soil maps (scale : 1/3000) were created for seven of the most prestigious red wine producing estates in Bordeaux, covering in total approximately 400 ha.

Read More

Irrigation frequency: variation and agronomic and qualitative effects on cv. Tempranillo in the D. O. Ribera del Duero

The application of irrigation in vineyard cultivation continues to be a highly debated aspect in terms of the quantity and distribution of water throughout the vegetative growth period.

Read More

Effect of terroir and winemaking protocol on the chemical and sensory profiles of Pinot Blanc wine

Wine research in the past years has mainly been focused on laboratory scale due to the possibility of controlling winemaking variables. Conversely, studies on wine quality in relation to the winemaking variables at the winery scale may be able to better account for the actual challenges encountered during wine production. Winemaking problems are recently arising from progressive changes in environmental conditions in relation to the terroir. It is important to realize that each wine region may have specific winemaking protocols and that winemakers often base their decisions on subjective, emotional, and empirical opinions. Due to all the above-mentioned issues, taking the correct decision in winemaking to achieve the desired goals may become even more challenging.

Read More

Metabolomic fingerprint changes during the alcoholic fermentation at industrial level of Muscat of Alexandria grape must

Muscat of Alexandria is one of the oldest cultivars still existing, globally recognized for its distinctive aroma, and the primary grape variety cultivated in the Greek Island of Lemnos, yielding various white wines with designated origins.

Read More