Macrowine 2021
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Revealing the origins of old bordeaux wines using terpene quantification

Revealing the origins of old bordeaux wines using terpene quantification

Abstract

The overall quality of fine wines is linked to the development of “bouquet” during wine bottle ageing (1). Bordeaux red wine ageing bouquet is defined by the association of several odours including fresh and fruity notes sometimes related to specific compounds. Some of those molecules, such as thiols or DMS are issued from precursors produced by the grapevine (2–5). On the another hand, several compounds such as terpenes are produced by the grape as precursors (6) and released during ageing. The aroma of aged wines , the “bouquet” could originate directly in grapes thanks to flavour precursors (7). In this study we addressed the questions: What is the most important between vintage and terroir in wine identity? And is there a molecular signature in the aroma of old wines linked to grape origin and revealed during ageing?Over 80 volatile molecules including DMS, esters, terpenes, mint terpenes, C13-norisoprénoïdes, volatiles oak wood compounds and off-flavors were quantified by GC/MS in 80 red Bordeaux wines (7 domains x 12 vintages between 1990 and 2007). A statistical analysis was performed on the dataset. First, the presence of most of the targeted molecules were identified in the 80 wines and the link between their contents and the wines’ ages was evaluated. After that, the hypothesis of wine identity being linked to wood contact or off-flavors was rejected. Next, principal component analysis (PCA) on the data showed a separation between the 7 vineyards studied. Each Bordeaux area and domain could be represented by one or several molecules. Then, a discriminant factor analysis (DFA) showed the weight of each compound in the separation. The terpenes, in particular terpinen-1-ol, terpinen-4-ol and α-terpinene, were implicated to the partitioning of vineyards. A degradation of the separation of the wines is observed if terpenes levels are excluded from the data set. Nevertheless, the separation is not effective based on solely terpene levels. The profile of terpenes in the molecular signature of these Bordeaux old wines is important but the signature of studied domains is incomplete without the other compounds.These results highlight the specificity of productions areas and the existence of a molecular identity unique to each domain beyond the effect of vintage and the passage of years. The terroir and blending practiced in Bordeaux are probably involved in this singular molecular identity.

DOI:

Publication date: September 14, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Justine Laboyrie

Unité de recherche Oenologie, EA 4577, USC 1366 INRAE, ISVV, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP, F33882 Villenave d’Ornon France ,Davide Slaghenaufi, Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona 37029 San Pietro in Cariano, Italy Giovanni Luzzini, Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona 37029 San Pietro in Cariano, Italy Maurizio Ugliano, Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona 37029 San Pietro in Cariano, Italy Laurent Riquier, Unité de recherche Oenologie, EA 4577, USC 1366 INRAE, ISVV, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP, F33882 Villenave d’Ornon France Stéphanie Marchand, Unité de recherche Oenologie, EA 4577, USC 1366 INRAE, ISVV, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux INP, F33882 Villenave d’Ornon France

Contact the author

Keywords

red wines identity, ageing, gas chromatography analysis, terpenes, terroir

Citation

Related articles…

Local adaptation tools to ensure the viticultural sustainability in a changing climate

[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs home_text="IVES" use_before_icon="on" before_icon="||divi||400" module_id="publication-ariane" _builder_version="4.19.4" _module_preset="default" module_text_align="center" module_font_size="16px" text_orientation="center"...

Better understand the soil wet bulb formation with subsurface or aerial drip irrigation in viticulture

The gradual change in rainfall patterns experienced in the south of France vineyards, especially around the Mediterranean sea, means that the vines are increasingly subject to summer drought. The winegrowers developped the use of irrigation techniques to ensure the maintenance of competitive yields in the production of wines under Protected Geographical Indication label. In practice, drip irrigation pipes can be installed above the ground or buried into the soil as well as at different distances from the vine row. The objective of this study was to examine the profiles of the wet bulbs of the soil obtained from two drip irrigation systems : aerial drip located under the vine row and subsurface drip placed in the middle of the inter-row. This experiment took place over two consecutive seasons (2020-2021) on a 3.4 ha Viognier plot in the Mediterranean region (PGI Oc, France) on sandy clay soil. The annual rainfalls were less than 400 mm. Soil water content probes were installed at different depths (20 – 40 – 60 – 80 cm) and at different lateralities from the vine row (30 – 60 – 90 – 120 cm) to control the formation of the soil wet bulb during irrigation. The mapping and the analysis of the data allowed a better understanding and differentiation of the water percolation when irrigating with subsurface or aerial drip. For the same amount of water and without differences of vine water status, it is shown that in a subsurface drip irrigation situation, the size of the wet bulb formed is larger than in aerial drip irrigation system.

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.
This paper focuses on the spatial analysis of changes of main climate parameters, in particular, analysis of viticultural bioclimatic indices that were determined for the purposes of viticulture zoning of wine-growing areas in the period 1961-2010, and those same parameters determined for the current, that is, referential climate period (1988-2017). Results of the research, that is, analysis of climate changes indicate that the majority of examined climate parameters in the Oplenac wine-growing district improved from the perspective of Smederevka and Prokupac vine varieties. These studies of climate conditions indicate that changes of analyzed climate parameters, that is, bioclimatic indices will be favorable for cultivation of varieties with later grape ripening times and those more sensitive to low temperatures, such as the autochthonous vine varieties Smederevka and Prokupac, therefore, it is recommended to producers to more actively plant vineyards with these varieties in the territory of the Oplenac wine-growing district.

What are the optimal ranges and thresholds for berry solar radiation for flavonoid biosynthesis?

In wine grape production, canopy management practices are applied to control the source-sink balance and improve the cluster microclimate to enhance berry composition. The aim of this study was to identify the optimal ranges of berry solar radiation exposure (exposure) for upregulation of flavonoid biosynthesis and thresholds for their degradation, to evaluate how canopy management practices such as leaf removal, shoot thinning, and a combination of both affect the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) yield components, berry composition, and flavonoid profile under context of climate change. First experiment assessed changes in the grape flavonoid content driven by four degrees of exposure. In the second experiment, individual grape berries subjected to different exposures were collected from two cultivars (Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot). The third experiment consisted of an experiment with three canopy management treatments (i) LR (removal of 5 to 6 basal leaves), (ii) ST (thinned to 24 shoots per vine), and (iii) LRST (a combination of LR and ST) and an untreated control (UNT). Berry composition, flavonoid content and profiles, and 3-isobutyl 2-methoxypyrazine were monitored during berry ripening. Although increasing canopy porosity through canopy management practices can be helpful for other purposes, this may not be the case of flavonoid compounds when a certain proportion of kaempferol was achieved. Our results revealed different sensitivities to degradation within the flavonoid groups, flavonols being the only monitored group that was upregulated by solar radiation. Within different canopy management practices, the main effects were due to the ST. Under environmental conditions given in this trial, ST and LRST hastened fruit maturity; however, a clear improvement of the flavonoid compounds (i.e., greater anthocyanin) was not observed at harvest. Methoxypyrazine berry content decreased with canopy management practices studied. Although some berry traits were improved (i.e. 2.5° Brix increase in berry total soluble solids) due to canopy management practices (ST), this resulted in a four-fold increase in labor operations cost, two-fold decrease in yield with a 10-fold increase in anthocyanin production cost per hectare that should be assessed together as the climate continues to get hot.

Teasing apart terroir: the influence of management style on native yeast communities within Oregon wineries and vineyards

Newer sequencing technologies have allowed for the addition of microbes to the story of terroir. The same environmental factors that influence the phenotypic expression of a crop also shape the composition of the microbial communities found on that crop. For fermented goods, such as wine, that microbial community ultimately influences the organoleptic properties of the final product that is delivered to customers. Recent studies have begun to study the biogeography of wine-associated microbes within different growing regions, finding that communities are distinct across landscapes. Despite this new knowledge, there are still many questions about what factors drive these differences. Our goal was to quantify differences in yeast communities due to management style between seven pairs of conventional and biodynamic vineyards (14 in total) throughout Oregon, USA. We wanted to answer the following questions: 1) are yeast communities distinct between biodynamic vineyards and conventional vineyards? 2) are these differences consistent across a large geographic region? 3) can differences in yeast communities be tied to differences in metabolite profiles of the bottled wine? To collect our data we took soil, bark, leaf, and grape samples from within each vineyard from five different vines of pinot noir. We also collected must and a 10º brix sample from each winery. Using these samples, we performed 18S amplicon sequencing to identify the yeast present. We then used metabolomics to characterize the organoleptic compounds present in the bottled wine from the blocks the year that we sampled. We are actively in the process of analysing our data from this study.