Observed climatic trends in South African wine regions and potential implications for viticulture

Terroir is a holistic concept that relates to both environmental and cultural factors that together influence the grape growing to wine production continuum. The physical factors that influence the process include matching a given grape variety to its ideal climate along with optimum site characteristics of elevation, slope, aspect, and soil

In Douro Region, vineyards are usually planted on hillsides with steep sloops. The models currently used for planting those vineyards are, depending on the initial slope of the hillside, vertical planting or terraces.

Lately, rosé wine is rapidly increasing its popularity worldwide. Short-time macerations with the red skin of the grapes cause the partial extraction of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the pinki-sh-salmon hue of rosé wines. However, the low quantity of tannins (antioxidants) and richness in phenolic acids, which can be easily oxidized into yellowish pigments, tend to predispose rosé wines to an undesirable browning. Although the use of SO₂ for the prevention of oxidation is highly extended, this practice is expected to be reduced. Therefore, the search for alternative oenological adjuvants that prevent the oxidation and browning of rosé wines is highly desired.

After the onset of grape berry ripening, phloem unloading follows an apoplasmic route into the mesocarp tissue. In the apoplast, most of the unloaded sucrose is cleaved by cell wall invertases

This study evaluates the effect of microwave treatment in grape maceration on the content of free and glycosidically bound varietal compounds) of must and wine and on the overall aroma of wines produced in the presence and absence of SO2.