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

Context and purpose of the study. Climate change scenarios predict ever increasing frequency of drought events and coupled with disease outbreaks poses survival risks to perennial fruit crops such as grapevine.

Nitrogen fertilisation of grapevines is known to influence not only plant development and production yield, but also yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). This parameter is related to the growth of yeast

Several studies demonstrated how climate and soil may be key drivers of variability at different scales.

Atypical ageing (ATA) is a wine aroma fault occurring in white wines characterised by an early loss of varietal aroma as well as nuances of wet mop, acacia blossom, shoe polish and dirty rag among others. 2-aminoacetophenone (2AAP) – a degradation product of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) – has been described as the major odour-active compound and chemical marker responsible for this off-flavour. Depending on the aroma intensity of wines, its odour threshold varies from 0.5 to 10.5 μg/L. It seems that a stress reaction in the vineyard triggered by climatic, pedological and viticultural factors can ultimately cause ATA development in wines and therefore shorten their shelf-life.

Polyphenols, namely anthocyanins and flavanols, are key compounds for wine color definition and taste perception (astringency and bitterness). During winemaking, several processes could influence the polyphenol composition and, therefore, the organoleptic parameters of wine.