Volatile fraction of young Cabernet Sauvignon from Santa Catarina State, a new terroir in Brazil

At a time when the world’s winegrowing industry is having to adapt to a number of challenges, winegrowers are wondering about the consequent changes they will have to make (grape varieties, changes in vineyard and cellar techniques). For winegrowers and consumers alike, there is also the question of how these changes will affect the taste of their wines. This research, based on the study of numerous sources and archives from the 20th century, some of which have never been published before, aims to show that, in the recent past, the winegrowing world has shown incredible resilience in the face of crises, and that the taste and perception of fine wines has changed considerably in 100 years.

Climate change is impacting wine production in all parts of the world in highly variable ways that may change the expression of terroir, from rapid loss of viability right through to highly beneficial aspects that increase suitability

Iron (Fe) deficiency is one of the important nutritional disorders for grapevine growing in alkaline and calcareous soils. Although Fe is an abundant element in soil, several factors limiting its availability, particularly the high levels of calcium carbonate or bicarbonate in soil, leading to a remarkable reduction in grapevine growth and productivity. The use of Fe chlorosis-tolerant rootstocks seems to be a cost-effective and efficient way to maintain Fe balance. Morphological and physiological changes occur in plants to cope with low Fe availability, including enhancement of ferric chelate reductase activity and altering root system by increasing lateral roots and root hairs.

Non-saccharomyces yeasts gained an increased interest in winemaking during the last decades, due to their ability to produce relevant amounts of polysaccharides. Moreover, a significant release of glutathione into the wine during fermentation was also observed with these strains, as well as an improvement of color stability and wine aroma profile. Valuable results have been obtained by hanseniaspora spp. concerning the release of polysaccharides and the production of acetic esters, mainly during fermentation.

The actual demand by consumers for safer and healthier food and beverage is pushing the wine sector to find alternative methods to avoid the use of sulphur dioxide in winemaking. Ozone is already used in the wine industry to produce sulphur dioxide-free wines through the patented method Purovino®.