 IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 The effect of organic, biodynamic and conventional production processes on the intrinsic and perceived quality of a typical wine

The effect of organic, biodynamic and conventional production processes on the intrinsic and perceived quality of a typical wine

Abstract

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the organic, biodynamic and conventional production processes on the typicality of the Chianti DOCG wine and the relation with the environmental impact in terms of CO2 production. Typicality can be defined as a set of properties, described by an intrinsic and perceived quality. Intrinsic quality is the resultant of an eligibility profile, whose parameters are common to all wines (e.g., the sensory attributes and chemical compounds related to acidity, astringency, persistence, alcohol, viscosity, etc.); an identity profile, whose parameters are related to the grape variety and the terroir (aroma and volatile profiles); a style profile related to the brand, expression of the winemaking related choices.

METHODS: Fourteen commercial Chianti DOCG wines from 2016 harvest were selected based on their production management including organic, biodynamic and conventional. A survey was set up in order to get vineyard and winemaking information from the different estates producing the wines object of the present study. This information was converted in terms of estimated carbon dioxide production, on the basis of existing literature data about Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Phenolic and volatile compositions, color indices and standard chemical parameters were determined on wines.Quantitative Descriptive Analysis was applied to define the eligibility, identity, and style properties (the intrinsic quality), while a group of 45 experts evaluated the differences between wines by Napping test and rated their typicality (perceived quality). For the evaluation of the chemical and sensory differences between wines, three global different models were created (conventional, organic and biodynamic) using a Soft Modelling of Class Analogy (SIMCA).

RESULTS: As regard the results of the survey, the organic and biodynamic managements showed the lower level of estimated values of carbon dioxide production. The statistical elaboration of the chemical and sensory data underlined that the different wine estate managements did not yield any systematic differences on the intrinsic and perceived quality, despite there were detected significant differences between wines. Moreover different levels of quality were evidenced inside every kind of management. In particular, the SIMCA model built on the chemical and sensory profiles highlighted that the conventional wine models presented the less variability, as opposed to the biodynamic model that resulted the more variable in terms of intrinsic and perceived quality.

CONCLUSIONS

The environmentally friendly production processes, such as organic and biodynamic production, with a low environmental impact, may not have necessarily an effect on the identity and thus on the typicality of wine. The process control represents the critical point for all the three kind of

DOI:

Publication date: September 7, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Monica Picchi

Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forestry Sciences and Technologies – University of Florence, via Donizetti, 6 – 50144 Firenze (Italy),Francesco MAIOLI, Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forestry Sciences and Technologies – University of Florence, via Donizetti, 6 – 50144 Firenze (Italy) Valentina CANUTI, Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forestry Sciences and Technologies – University of Florence, via Donizetti, 6 – 50144 Firenze (Italy) Valentina MILLARINI, Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forestry Sciences and Technologies – University of Florence, via Donizetti, 6 – 50144 Firenze (Italy) Paola DOMIZIO, Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forestry Sciences and Technologies – University of Florence, via Donizetti, 6 – 50144 Firenze (Italy) Bruno ZANONI, Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental, and Forestry Sciences and Technologies – University of Florence, via Donizetti, 6 – 50144 Firenze (Italy)

Contact the author

Keywords

sangiovese; biodynamic wine; organic wine; quality; typicality; carbon footprint

Citation

Climate, Viticulture, and Wine … my how things have changed!

The planet is warmer than at any time in our recorded past and increasing greenhouse emissions and persistence in the climate system means that continued warming is highly likely. Climate change has already altered the basic framework of growing grapes for wine production worldwide and will likely continue to do so for years to come. The wine sector can continue to play an important role in leading the agricultural sector in addressing climate change. From developing on…

Elucidating vineyard site contributions to key sensory molecules: Identification of correlations between elemental composition and volatile aroma profile of site-specific Pinot noir wines

The reproducibility of elemental profile in wines produced across multiple vintages has been previously reported using grapes from a single scion clone of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir. The grapevines were grown on fourteen different vineyard sites, from Oregon to southern California in the U.S.A., which span distances from approximately hundreds of meters to 1450 km, while elevations range from near sea level to nearly 500 m. In addition, sensorial (i.e. aroma, taste, and mouthfeel) and chemical (i.e. polyphenolic and volatile) differences across the different vineyard sites have also been observed among these wines at two aging time points. While strong evidence exists to support that grapes grown in different regions can produce wines with unique chemical and sensorial profiles, even when a single clone is used, the understanding of growing site characteristics that result in this reproducible differentiation continues to emerge. One hypothesis is that the elemental profile that a vineyard site imparts to the grape berries and the resulting wine is an important contributor to this differentiation in chemistry and sensory of wines. For example, various classes of enzymes that catalyze the formation of key aroma compounds or their precursors require specific metals. In this work, we begin to report correlations between elemental and volatile aroma profiles of site-specific Pinot noir wines, made under standardized winemaking conditions, that have been previously shown to be distinguished separately by these chemical analyses.

Extreme canopy management for vineyard adaptation to climate change: is it a good idea?

Climate change constitutes an enormous challenge for humankind and for all human activities, viticulture not being an exception. Long-term strategic changes are probably needed the most, but growers also need to deal with short-term changes: summers that are getting progressively warmer, earlier harvest dates and higher pH in musts and wines. In the last 10-15 years, a relevant corpus of research is being developed worldwide in order to evaluate to which extent extreme canopy management operations, aimed at reducing leaf area and, thus, limiting the source to sink ratio, could be useful to delay ripening. Although extreme canopy management can result in relevant delays in harvest dates, longer term studies, as well as detailed analysis of their implications on carbohydrate reserves, bud fertility and future yield are desirable before these practices can be recommended.

Adaptability of grapevines to climate change: characterization of phenology and sugar accumulation of 50 varieties, under hot climate conditions

Climate is the major factor influencing the dynamics of the vegetative cycle and can determine the timing of phenological periods. Knowledge of the phenology of varieties, their chronological duration, and thermal requirements, allows not only for the better management of interventions in the vineyard, but also to predict the varieties’ behaviour in a scenario of climate change, giving the wine producer the possibility of selecting the grape varieties that are best adapted to the climatic conditions of a certain terroir. In 2014, Symington Family Estates, Vinhos, established two grape variety libraries in two different places with distinctive climate conditions (Douro Superior, and Cima Corgo), with the commitment of contributing to a deeper agronomic and oenological understanding of some grape varieties, in hot climate conditions. In these research vineyards are represented local varieties that are important in the regional and national viticulture, but also others that have over time been forgotten — as well as five international reference cultivars. From 2017 to 2021, phenological observations have been made three times a week, following a defined protocol, to determine the average dates of budbreak, flowering and veraison. With the climate data of each location, the thermal requirements of each variety and the chronological duration of each phase have been calculated. During maturation, berry samples have been gathered weekly to study the dynamics of sugar accumulation, between other parameters. The data was analysed applying phenological and sugar accumulation models available in literature. The results obtained show significant differences between the varieties over several parameters, from the chronological duration and thermal requirements to complete the various stages of development, to the differences between the two locations, confirming the influence of the climate on phenology and the stages of maturation, in these specific conditions.

Copper contamination in vineyard soils of Bordeaux: spatial risk assessment for the replanting of vines and crops

Copper (Cu) is widely and historically used in viticulture as a fungicide against mildew. Cu has a strong affinity for soil organic matter and accumulates in topsoil horizons. Thus, Cu may negatively affect soil organisms and plants, consequently reducing soil fertility and productivity. The Bordeaux vineyards have the largest vineyard surfaces (26%) within French controlled appellation and a great proportion of French wine production (around 5 million hl per year). Considering the local context of vineyard surfaces decreasing (vine uprooting) and possible new crop plantation, the issue of Cu potential toxicity rises. Therefore, the aims of this work are firstly to evaluate the Cu contamination in vineyard soils of Bordeaux, secondly to produce a risk assessment map for new vine or crop plantation. We used soil analyses from several local studies to build a database with 4496 soil horizon samples. The database was enhanced by means of pedotransfer functions in order to estimate the bioaccessible (EDTA-extractable) Cu in soils of samples without measurements. From this database, 1797 georeferenced samples with CuEDTA concentrations in the topsoil (0-50 cm depth) were used for kriging interpolation in order to produce the spatial distribution map of CuEDTA in vineyard soils. Then, the spatial distribution of Cu was crossed with vine uprooting surfaces and municipality boundaries. CuEDTAconcentrations ranged from 0.52 to 459 mg/kg and showed clear anomalies. Our results from spatial analysis showed that almost 50% of vineyard soil surfaces have CuEDTA concentrations higher than 30 mg/kg (moderate risk for new plantation) and 20% with concentrations higher than 50 mg/kg (high risk for new plantation). A decision-support map based on municipalities was realised to provide a simple tool to stakeholders concerned by land use management.