 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

A multidisciplinary approach to evaluate the effects of the training system on the performance of “Aglianico del Vulture” vineyards

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Variety and climatic effects on quality scores in the Western US winegrowing regions

Wine quality is strongly linked to climate. Quality scores are often driven by climate variation across different winegrowing regions and years, but also influenced by other aspects of terroir, including variety. While recent work has looked at the relationship between quality scores and climate across many European regions, less work has examined New World winegrowing regions. Here we used scores from three major rating systems (Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator) combined with daily climate and phenology data to understand what drives variation across wine quality scores in major regions of the Western US, including regions in California, Oregon and Washington. We examined effects of variety, region, and in what phenological period climate was most predictive of quality. As in other studies, we found climate, based mainly on growing degree day (GDD) models, was generally associated with quality—with higher GDD associated with higher scores—but variety and region also had strong effects. Effects of region were generally stronger than variety. Certain varieties received the highest scores in only some areas, while other varieties (e.g., Merlot) generally scored lower across regions. Across phenological stages, GDD during budbreak was often most strongly associated with quality. Our results support other studies that warmer periods generally drive high quality wines, but highlight how much region and variety drive variation in scores outside of climate.

Low-cost sensors as a support tool to monitor soil-plant heat exchanges in a Mediterranean vineyard

Mediterranean viticulture is increasingly exposed to more frequent extreme conditions such as heat waves. These extreme events co-occur with low soil water content, high air vapor pressure deficit and high solar radiant energy fluxes and result in leaf and berry sunburn, lower yield, and berry quality, which is a major constraint for the sustainability of the sector. Grape growers must find ways to proper and effectively manage heat waves and extreme canopy and berry temperatures. Irrigation to keep soil moisture levels and enable adequate plant turgor, and convective and evaporative cooling emerged as a key tool to overcome this major challenge. The effects of irrigation on soil and plant water status are easily quantifiable but the impact of irrigation on soil and canopy temperature and on heat convection from soil to cluster zone remain less characterized. Therefore, a more detailed quantification of vineyard heat fluxes is highly relevant to better understand and implement strategies to limit the effects of extreme weather events on grapevine leaf and berry physiology and vineyards performance. Low-cost sensor technologies emerge as an opportunity to improve monitoring and support decision making in viticulture. However, validation of low-cost sensors is mandatory for practical applicability. A two-year study was carried in a vineyard in Alentejo, south of Portugal, using low-cost thermal cameras (FLIR One, 80×60 pixels and FLIR C5, 160×120 pixels, 8-14 µm, FLIR systems, USA) and pocket thermohygrometers (Extech RHT30, EXTECH instruments, USA) to monitor grapevine and soil temperatures. Preliminary results show that low-cost cameras can detect severe water stress and support the evaluation of vertical canopy temperature variability, providing information on soil surface temperature. All these thermal parameters can be relevant for soil and crop management and be used in decision support systems.

Current climate change in the Oplenac wine-growing district (Serbia)

Serbian autochthonous vine varieties Smederevka (for white wines) and Prokupac (for rosé and red wines) are the primary representatives of typical characteristics of wines and terroir of numerous wine-growing areas in Serbia. In the past, these varieties were the leading vine varieties, however, as the result of globalization of winemaking and the trend of consumption of wines from widely prevalent vine varieties, they were replaced by introduced international varieties. Smederevka and Prokupac vine varieties are characterized by later time of grape ripening, and relative sensitivity to low temperatures. Climate conditions can be a restrictive factor for production of high-quality grapes and wine and for the spatial spreading of these varieties in hilly continental wine-growing areas.
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