 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)

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Keywords

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

Citation

‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ (Vitis vinifera L.) berry skin flavonol and anthocyanin composition is affected by trellis systems and applied water amounts

Trellis systems are selected in wine grape vineyards to mainly maximize vineyard yield and maintain berry quality. This study was conducted in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate six commonly utilized trellis systems including a vertical shoot positioning (VSP), two relaxed VSPs (VSP60 and VSP80), a single high wire (SH), a high quadrilateral (HQ), and a guyot (GY), combined with three levels of irrigation regimes based on different crop evapotranspiration (ETc) replacements, including a 25% ETc, 50% ETc, and 100% ETc. The results indicated SH yielded the most fruits and accumulated the most total soluble solids (TSS) at harvest in 2020, however, it showed the lowest TSS in the second season. In 2020, SH and HQ showed higher concentrations in most of the anthocyanin derivatives compared to the VSPs. Similar comparisons were noticed in 2021 as well. SH and HQ also accumulated more flavonols in both years compared to other trellis systems. Overall, this study provides information on the efficacy of trellis systems on grapevine yield and berry flavonoid accumulation in a currently warming climate.

Estimating bulk stomatal conductance of grapevine canopies

In response to changes in their environment, grapevines regulate transpiration using various physiological mechanisms that alter conductance of water through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Expressed as bulk stomatal conductance at the canopy scale, it varies diurnally in response to changes in vapor pressure deficit and net radiation, and over the season to changes in soil water deficits and hydraulic conductivity of both soil and plant. It is necessary to characterize the response of conductance to these variables to better model how vine transpiration also responds to these variables. Furthermore, to be relevant for vineyard-scale modeling, conductance is best characterized using data collected in a vineyard setting. Applying a crop canopy energy flux model developed by Shuttleworth and Wallace, bulk stomatal conductance was estimated using measurements of individual vine sap flow, temperature and humidity within the vine canopy, and estimates of net radiation absorbed by the vine canopy. These measurements were taken on several vines in a non-irrigated vineyard in Bordeaux France, using equipment that did not interfere with ongoing vineyard operations. An inverted Penman-Monteith equation was then used to calculate bulk stomatal conductance on 15-minute intervals from July to mid-September 2020. Time-series plots show significant diurnal variation and seasonal decreases in conductance, with overall values similar to those in the literature. Global sensitivity analysis using non-parametric regression found transpiration flux and vapor pressure deficit to be the most important input variables to the calculation of bulk stomatal conductance, with absorbed net radiation and bulk boundary layer conductance being much less important. Conversely, bulk stomatal conductance was one of the most important inputs when calculating vine transpiration, further emphasizing the need for characterizing its response to environmental changes for use in vineyard water use modeling.

Anthocyanin profile is differentially affected by high temperature, elevated CO₂ and water deficit in Tempranillo (Vitis vinifera L.) clones

Anthocyanin potential of grape berries is an important quality factor in wine production. Anthocyanin concentration and profile differ among varieties but it also depends on the environmental conditions, which are expected to be greatly modified by climate change in the future. These modifications may significantly modify the biochemical composition of berries at harvest, and thus wine typicity. Among the diverse approaches proposed to reduce the potential negative effects that climate change may have on grape quality, genetic diversity among clones can represent a source of potential candidates to select better adapted plant material for future climatic conditions. The effects of individual and combined factors associated to climate change (increase of temperature, rise of air CO2 concentration and water deficit) on the anthocyanin profile of different clones of Tempranillo that differ in the length of their reproductive cycle were studied. The aim was to highlight those clones more adapted to maintain specific Tempranillo typicity in the future. Fruit-bearing cuttings were grown in controlled conditions under two temperatures (ambient temperature versus ambient temperature + 4ºC), two CO2 levels (400 ppm versus 700 ppm) and two water regimes (well-watered versus water deficit), both in combination or independently, in order to simulate future climate change scenarios. Elevated temperature increased anthocyanin acylation, whereas elevated CO2 and water deficit favoured the accumulation of malvidin derivatives, as well as the acylation and tri-hydroxylation level of anthocyanins. Although the changes in anthocyanin profile observed followed a common pattern among clones, such impact of environmental conditions was especially noticeable in one of the most widely distributed Tempranillo clones, the accession RJ43.

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.

Use of multispectral satellite for monitoring vine water status in mediterranean areas

The development of new generations of multispectral satellites such as Sentinel-2 opens possibilities as to vine water status assessment (Cohen et al., 2019). Based on a three years field campaign, a model of Stem Water Potential (SWP) estimation on vine using four satellite bands in Red, Red-Edge, NIR and SWIR domains was developed (Laroche-Pinel et al., 2021). The model relies on SWP field measures done using a pressure chamber (Scholander et al., 1965), which is a common, robust and precise method to assess vine water status (Acevedo-Opazo et al., 2008). The model was mainly developed from from SWP measures on Syrah N (Laroche Pinel E., 2021).

A large scale monitoring was organized in different vineyards in the Mediterranean region in 2021. 10 varieties amongst the most represented in this area were monitored (Cabernet sauvignon N, Chardonnay B, Cinsault N, Grenache N, Merlot N, Mourvèdre N, Sauvignon B, Syrah N, Vermentino B, Viognier B). The model was used to produce water status maps from Sentinel-2 images, starting from the beginning of June (fruit set) up to September (harvest). The average estimated SWP for each vine was compared to actual field SWP measures done by wine growers or technicians during usual monitoring of irrigation programs. The correlations between mean estimated SWP and mean measured SWP were at the same level than expected by the model. (Laroche Pinel, 2021) The general SWP kinetics were comparable. The estimated SWP would have led to same irrigation decisions concerning the date of first irrigation in comparison with measured SWP.

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