Terroir, climat et sol

The aromatic complexity of a wine results from the perception of the association of volatile molecules and each aroma can be categorized into different families. The “green” aromas family in red wines has retained our attention by its close link with the fruity perception. In that study, the “green” olfactory concept of red wines was considered through a strategy combining both sensory analysis and hyphenated chromatographic techniques including HPLC and MDGC (Multidimensional Gas Chromatography). The aromatic space of this concept was specified by lexical generation through a free association task on 22 selected wines by a panel of wine experts. Then, 70 French red wines were scored on the basis of the intensity of their “green” and “fruity” attributes.

Nitrogen (N2) is critical in grape berries, especially in organic wine making. After intake, N2 follows various metabolic and allocation routes and, from veraison, partly reallocates into berries. Water deficit affects the N2 nutrition due to a poor diffusion in soil solution and vascular mobilisation. Also, affects photosynthesis and the energy needed for metabolism, whose extent would depend on the stomatal sensitivity of the plant. We have assessed the effect of a moderate water deficit from pea size, in 3 years old field grown potted plants of Chardonnay (CH) and Cabernet Sauvignon (CS), differing in stomatal sensitivity, on the N2 status of plant parts. Water deficit reduced photosynthesis, leaf area and fresh and dry plant mass along the season, but up to a higher extent in CS.

Le variabili meteorologiche e micro-meteorologiche ricoprono un importante ruolo sulla risposta vegeto-produttiva della vite e di conseguenza sulla qualità delle produzioni. Utilizzando una rete wireless di sensori sono stati monitorati i parametri meteorologici e micro-meteorologici di 4 vigneti del territorio toscano e in differenti condizioni di gestione agronomica.

During bottle aging, the development of wine aroma through low and gradual oxygen exposure is often positive in red wines, but can be unfavorable in many cases, resulting in a rapid loss of fresh, fruity flavors. Prematurely aged wines are marked by intense prune and fig aromatic nuances that dominate the desirable bouquet achieved through aging (Pons et al., 2013). This aromatic defect, in part, is caused by the presence of 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione (MND). MND content was shown to be lower in nonoxidized red wines and higher in oxidized red wines, which systematically exceeds the odor detection threshold (62 ng/L).

The spine grapes (Vitis davidii Foëx.) are wild grape species that grow in southern China, and can be used for table grapes, juicing and winemaking. To systematically investigate the flavor profiles of spine grapes, flavonoids and volatile compounds were detected in five spine grape varieties (Seputao, Ziqiu, Miputao, Tianputao and Baiputao) using HPLC-QqQ-MS/MS and GC-MS. The content of these compounds highly depended on the variety, such as the total concentrations of anthocyanins (91.43-328.85 mg/kg FW) and free norisprenoids (2.60 to 11.46 μg/kg FW).