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.

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…

EVIDENCE OF THE INTERACTION OF ULTRASOUND AND ASPERGILLOPEPSINS I ON UNSTABLE GRAPE PROTEINS

Most of the effects of ultrasound (US) result from the collapse of bubbles due to cavitation. The shockwave produced is associated with shear forces, along with high localised temperatures and pressures. However, the high-speed stream, radical species formation, and heat generated during sonication may also affect the stability of some enzymes and proteins, depending on their chemical structure. Recently, Ce-lotti et al. (2021) reported the effects of US on protein stability in wines. To investigate this further, the effect of temperature (40°C and 70°C; 60s), sonication (20 kHz and 100 % amplitude, for 20s and 60s, leading to the same temperatures as above, respectively), in combination with Aspergillopepsins I (AP-I) supplementation (100 μg/L), was studied on unstable protein concentration (TLPs and chitinases) using HPLC with an UV–Vis detector in a TLPs-supplemented model system and in an unstable white wine.

Terroir effects on wine aromatic metabolomics in the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, Ningxia, China

Aim: The eastern foot of Helan Mountain, Ningxia, China is one of the most important wine production regions in China and grape cultivation has spread in several sub-regions with different soils and cultivars. Large diversity in wine aromas have been observed at Ningxia region but which terroir factors drive those diversity in aromas remain to uncover. This study aims to investigate the impacts of grape varieties and soil chemical properties on wine aromas at Ningxia, in order to characterize the aromatic typicality of Ningxia wines and provide foundation for developing a ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ system. 

Interest in measuring the grape texture to characterise grapes from different cultivation areas – Example of Cabernet franc from the Loire Valley

A two-bite compression test was applied on Cabernet franc grapes during two harvest seasons. The evolution of the texture parameters from véraison to harvest was studied and a new mechanical ripeness notion was introduced.

Analysis of some environmental factors and cultural practices that affect the production and quality of the Manto Negro, Callet and Prensal Blanc varieties

45 non irrigated vineyards distributed in the DO (Denomination) Pla i Llevant de Mallorca and the DO Binissalem Mallorca were used to investigate the characteristics of production and quality and their relationships certain environmental factors and cultural practices. The grape varieties investigated are autochthonous to the island of Mallorca, Manto Negro and Callet as red and Prensal Blanc as white. All plants were measured for four consecutive years in the main production and quality parameters. Among the environmental factors, the type of soil has been studied, more specifically its water retention capacity, the planting density, the age of the vineyard and the level of viral infection. The presence or absence of virus seems to have no effect on any component studied in the varieties studied. For the white variety Prensal Blanc age is negatively correlated with production and the number of bunches, nevertheless it does not cause any effect on the required quality parameters. However, for the red varieties Callet and Manto Negro, the age of the plantation is the variable that best correlates with the quality parameters, therefore the old vines should be the object of preservation by the viticulturists and winemakers in order to guarantee its contribution to the quality of the wines made with these varieties.

Alternative fate of varietal thiols in wine: identification, formation, and enantiomeric distribution of novel 1,3-oxathianes

This study aimed to explore an alternative fate of varietal thiols by identifying and characterising cis-2-methyl-4-propyl-1,3-oxathiane