The wine microbial consortium: a real terroir characteristic

Aromas are one of the key points in food analysis since they are related to character, quality and consequently consumer acceptance. It is not different in the winery industry, where the aromatic profile is a combination of viticultural and oenological practices. Based on the development of more aromatic clones and on the potential to produce sparkling wines at Caldas, in the southern region of Minas Gerais (Brazil) (21°55´S and 46°23´W, altitude 1,100m), the aim of this work was the determination of volatile compounds in six different clones of Chardonnay grape berries to better understand which compounds add bouquet to the wine, and additionally comprehend the impacts of the edaphoclimatic and annual conditions on the improvement of grape-growing and winemaking practices.

The effects of climate change on viticulture are complex due to interactions among factors and cascading effects.

Climate change is here. One of the main consequences is an increase in the frequency and severity of abiotic stresses which mostly occur in a combined manner. Grapevine, which grows in a large diversity of pedo-climatic conditions, has presumably evolved different mechanisms to allow this widespread adaptation. Harnessing the genetic diversity in these mechanisms will be central to the future of viticulture in many traditional wine growing areas. The interactions between the scion and the rootstock through grafting add an additional level of diversity and adaptive potential to explore.
At the physiological level, these mechanisms are related to processes such as root system development and functioning (water and nutrient uptake), interactions with the soil microbiome, gas exchange regulation, hydraulic properties along the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, reserve storage, short and long distance signaling mechanisms and plasticity for some of these traits.

Wine aroma is influenced by several viticultural and oenological factors. In this study we used experimental wine making in a full factorial design to determine the impact of grapevine age, must turbidity, and yeast strain on the aroma of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Riesling wines. A recently developed, non-targeted SPME-GC-MS fingerprinting approach for wine volatiles was used. This approach includes the segmentation and mathematical transformation of chromatograms in combination with Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) and subsequent deconvolution of important chromatogram segments.

Aim: Sauvignon blanc displays a range of styles that can include prominent tropical and passionfruit aromas. Both sensory evaluation and chemical analysis have confirmed the above-average presence of ‘varietal thiols’ in the Sauvignon blanc wines from Marlborough, New Zealand.