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…

The evaluation of tannin activity in south african red wines

Astringency is an important red wine quality attribute, which can be measured both chemically and sensorially. The use of tannin activity shows potential as a valuable chemical measurement in understanding red wine mouthfeel properties such as astringency and bitterness, which is also affected by tannin structural factors, in addition to matrix effects. Tannin activity is defined as the enthalpy of interaction between tannins and a hydrophobic surface. Studies involving tannin activity have been performed since the early 2010’s, but chemosensory studies used to evaluate how structure-activity relationships change across multiple, consecutive vintages are limited. The aim of this study is to investigate how tannin activity may be linked to red wine mouthfeel, and how all these variables may change according to wine age.

Read More

Tempranillo in semi-arid tropical climate (Pernambuco-Brazil). Adaptation of some clones and their affinity to different rootstocks

The variety Aragonez (sin. Tempranillo), recently introduced in the San Francisco Valley (9º02′ S; 40º11′ W) has revealed an excellent adaptation, with high potential of quality and yield, even without clonal material.

Read More

Grapevine sensitivity to fungal diseases: use of a combination of terroir cartography and parcel survey

In front of the economic interest and seeking to respect their environment, the wine growers move gradually towards a policy of reasoning their plant health protection. This is why, starting from epidemiologic studies on grapevine pathogens, forecasting models of the risks are developed by research and experimentation bodies.

Read More

A microbial overview of txakoli wine: the case of three appellations of origin

The Txakoli, a white wine produced in the Basque Country (North of Spain), has recently gained popularity due to wine quality improvement and increase in both acreages of production and wine consumption. The aim of this study was to characterize the chemical and microbiological differences between Txakoli wines made with grapes from different sites.

Read More

“Q & A” of the european commission for labeling and desalcoholization for wines: european wine “soft-law”?

Recently, the European Commission seems to have inaugurated a new mechanism for regulating the wine sector. Through two communications, articulated in the form of “Questions & Answers”, concerning the new rules for labeling (24.11.2023) and dealcoholization of wine (15.01.2024), the Commission is not simply “explaining” the new rules but, in an approach close to the theory of “Circulaire Normative” established in comparative law, chooses among different interpretations and even adds Praeter Legem constraints.

Read More