Terroir 2010 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Soils, climate and vine management: their influence on Marlborough Sauvignon blanc wine style

Soils, climate and vine management: their influence on Marlborough Sauvignon blanc wine style

Abstract

Sauvignon blanc was first planted in Marlborough, New Zealand in the mid-1970s. Since that time, Marlborough has gained an international reputation by producing the definitive wine style of that grape variety. However, within the relatively small geographic region of Marlborough, distinctive sub-regional differences in flavour and aroma profiles are now being defined. For example, wines made from fruit grown in the lower Awatere Valley (30 km south of Blenheim) typically have higher herbaceous characters, associated with higher concentrations of iso-butyl methoxypyrazine (IBMP) when compared to wines made from fruit harvested at the same soluble solids in the Wairau Valley.
Experiments conducted over the past five years have investigated the extent to which these differences in flavour and aroma profiles are a reflection of soil, climate or management (in particular grape yield and harvest date). Fruit has been harvested at a soluble solids of 21.5 to 22.5 o Brix on each of five vineyard sites (four in the main Wairau Valley and one in the cooler Awatere Valley), and covering a range of soil types. Vines were either trained using a 2-cane or 4-cane vertical shoot positioning system at each site, to investigate the possible effect of vine yield. The higher yields resulted in a later harvest date (the date on which 21.5 o Brix was reached) at each site. In general this also resulted in lower IBMP concentrations in the wines.
The results from these experiments provide winemakers with an understanding of the effect of the interaction of site, grapevine yield and harvest date on Sauvignon blanc wine aroma and flavour profile, allowing them to express the sub-regional Marlborough “Terroir” of this wine.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: December 3, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2010

Type: Article

Authors

M.C.T. Trought (1), R.H. Agnew (1), J.S. Bennett (1), K. Stronge (1), W. Parr (2), M. Greven (1)

(1) The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd
Marlborough Wine Research Centre
PO Box 845, Blenheim 7240, New Zealand
(2) Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences,
Lincoln University, PO Box 84, Lincoln 7647, Canterbury, New Zealand

Contact the author

Keywords

Marlborough, Sauvignon blanc, Terroir, thiol, methoxypyrazine

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2010

Citation

Related articles…

Investigation of the biostimulant activity of naringenin on anthocyanins biosynthesis: from an explanatory transcriptomic approach on Gamay callus towards a future vineyard application

Context and purpose of the study. Anthocyanins are essential phenolic compounds in red wine, contributing significantly to colour intensity, stability, and sensory quality.

Read More

Oxidability of wines made from Spanish minority grape varieties

The phenolic profile of a wine plays an essential role in its oxidative capacity and in both white and red wines it defines its shelf life[1]. The study of minority varieties to produce wines with peculiar characteristics necessarily includes the phenolic and oxidative characterization of the wines produced. This paper presents the study of wines made from 24 minority and majority white and red grape varieties, focusing on phenolic characteristics (total phenols, slightly polymerized phenols, highly polymerized phenols, anthocyanins…), color, as well as parameters related to the oxidability of the wines and their capacity to consume oxygen [2].

Read More

Hyperspectral imaging and machine learning for monitoring grapevine physiology

Rootstocks are gaining importance in viticulture as a strategy to combat abiotic challenges, as well as enhancing scion physiology and attributes. Therefore, understanding how the rootstock affects photosynthesis is insightful for genetic improvement of either genotype in the grafted grapevines. Photosynthetic parameters such as maximum rate of carboxylation of RuBP (Vcmax) and the maximum rate of electron transport driving RuBP regeneration (Jmax) have been identified as ideal targets for breeding and genetic studies. However, techniques used to directly measure these photosynthetic parameters are limited to the single leaf level and are time-consuming measurements.

Read More

Influence du terroir et de la conduite du verger sur la vigueur, le développement et la productivité des pommiers. Conséquences sur la teneur en sucres des pommes

Dans le cadre d’une étude globale de l’influence du type de sol et de la conduite du verger sur la composition des pommes à cidre, une attention particulière est portée sur les facteurs amonts de la qualité comme

Read More

CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF INTERSPECIFIC HYBRID RED WINE COLOR IN RELATION TO ANTHOCYANIN PROFILE AND CHEMICAL COLOR PARAMETERS

Interspecific hybrid winegrapes are of growing interest in the context of climate change based on their disease resistance and cold hardiness. In addition to a need for increased understanding of their chemical composition, there is little empirical evidence on the consumer perception of non-vinifera wine. Phenolic compounds, and particularly color, play an important organoleptic and quality determination role in wine, but can vary significantly in interspecific hybrid wines compared to wines produced from Vitis vinifera cultivars [1, 2, 3]. Anecdotally, the variation in anthocyanin species, interactions, and concentrations in interspecific hybrids could result in a variance from“vinifera-like” wine color.

Read More