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…

Smoke taint: Understanding and addressing the compositional consequences of grapevine exposure to smoke

Climate change has become a major challenge for grape and wine production around the world

Read More

Control of grapevine virus diseases in collections and at the stages of propagation in Ukraine

The principles of virological control on different types of grapevine collections and plantations are summarized.

Read More

Assessment of plant water consumption rates under climate change conditions through an automated modular platform

The impact of climate change is noticeable in the present weather, making water scarcity the most immediate mediator reducing the performance and viability of crops, including grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). The present study developed a system (hardware, firmware, and software) for the determination of plant water use through changes in weight through a period. The aim is to measure the differences in grapevine water consumption in response to climate change (+4oC and 700 ppm) under controlled conditions. The results reveal a correlation between daily plant consumption rates and reference evapotranspiration (ETo).

Read More

SAVOIR: A project promoting innovative and effective prophylactic methods in viticulture, as part of the governmental plan to anticipate the withdrawal of plant protection products in France (PARSADA)

Faced with the likely withdrawal of commercial specialities from use in the short to medium term, France has decided to implement an ambitious action plan to anticipate and avoid withdrawal without alternative solutions. The French wine industry (cniv and ifv) has been heavily involved in this action to define priorities. faced with the risk of the withdrawal of multi-site fungicides (folpel, dithianon, copper) coupled with the probable reduction in single-site fungicide solutions, mildew and black rot have been identified as the priority uses.

Read More

Exploiting somaclonal variability to increase drought stress tolerance in grapevine 

Global warming has enhanced the frequency and severity of drought events, hence calling for a better management of water resources in the vineyard and for an improvement of breeding platforms. Somatic embryogenesis (SE) (i.e. the initiation of embryos from somatic tissues) can spontaneously generate new genetic variability, which results from genetic mutations, changes in epigenetic marks, or phenotypic alterations.
This study was tailored to test whether vines in vitro regenerated through SE (i.e. somaclones), can tolerate water deprivation better than the mother plant.

Read More