Phenolic and volatile profiles of south tyrolean pinot blanc musts and young wines

Among the main plant secondary metabolites, glycosides have a key-role in wine chemistry. Glycosides are non-volatile complex composed of a non-sugar component (aglycone) bound to one or more carbohydrates.

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.

The mapping of spatial variability in vineyards offers the potential to implement zonal management strategies with the aim to optimize economic benefits and increase sustainability by managing natural resources, such as water used for irrigation, more optimally. This study characterized the (natural) variability in plant water status in a commercial Cabernet Sauvignon block, using remote sensing techniques, and identified the impact of this variability on the yield, and juice and wine composition. From the field data collected over two growing seasons, we demonstrated that remote sensing techniques are a practical and powerful tool for mapping spatial variability within vineyard blocks.

The available plant diversity is maintained in global genetic collections and germplasm banks. One of the main objectives of the study of the genetic material of vine still conducting research to characterize the genotypes and the creation of new varieties. The main ampelographic collection of the country, the largest in the Balkans, is located at the Athens Vine Institute in Lykovrisi, Attica, in an area of 70 acres. It contains more than 800 varieties, most of which are indigenous. The Institute is conducting research on the genetic improvement of native varieties and the creation new winemaking and table grape varieties of high productivity, grape quality, resistance to fungal diseases and their adaptability to stresses using the hybridization method using European high-quality varieties.

Filtration is a critical step in ensuring the clarity and microbial stability of wine prior to bottling. However the process of filtering potentially reduces red wine quality by removing some of the macromolecules that contribute to the texture of the wine. Commercial red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon (CAS) and Shiraz (SHZ), of two vintages and two grades (premium grade wines from the older vintage: CAS13 and SHZ13; and standard grade wines from a younger vintage: CAS14 and SHZ14) were filtered through industrial-scale commercial filtration units prior to bottling. Samples were taken before and after cross-flow filtration, lenticular filters, 0.65 µm and 0.45 µm pore size nylon membrane filters. The concentration and composition of macromolecules, including tannins and polysaccharides, were measured in all samples as well as particle size distribution and wine colour.