Landscape qualities and keys for action

This study presents an investigation based on sensory analysis data of Spanish wines with geographical indications collected over a three-year period. Sensory analysis plays a crucial role in assessing the quality, characteristics, and perception of wines. The trained tasting panel at Dolmar Laboratory, accredited for objective sensory evaluation of wines since 2016, has been tasting over 5000 wines. However, it is since 2021, when a computer application for tastings was developed, that the digitalization of data allows for detailed statistical analysis of the results.

The application of different winemaking techniques helps to modify the basic parameters, phenolic profile, and aroma components influencing the final wine quality. In particular, pre-fermentative processes aim to increase the extraction and preservation of grape native compounds. Among them, cold liquid stabulation (macération sur bourbes) consists in maintaining the grape juice on its lees, in suspended condition at low temperature (0-8 °C) for a variable time (generally from 7 to 21 days). The aim of this work is to apply the cold liquid stabulation on two Italian white grape varieties, Arneis and Cortese, to evaluate the impact on basic parameters, color, polyphenolic compounds (TPI), antioxidant power (DPPH), total polysaccharides, and free and glycosylated volatile compounds (GC-MS analysis) during and after the process.

The wine industry worldwide faces increasing challenges to achieve sustainable levels of carbon emission mitigation. This project seeks to establish the feasibility of harvesting winter pruned vineyard biomass (PVB) for potential use in carbon footprint reduction, through its use as a renewable biofuel for energy production. In order to make this recommendation, technical issues such as the potential environmental impact, chemical composition and fuel suitability, and logistical challenges of harvesting biomass needs to be understood to compare with the results from similar studies. Of particular interest is the role PVB plays as a carbon source in vineyard soils and what effect annual removal might have on soil carbon sequestration. A preliminary trial was established in the Waite Campus vineyard (University of Adelaide) to test current management strategies. Vines are grown in a Eutrophic, Red Dermosol clay loam soil with well managed midrow swards. A comparison was undertaken of mid-row treatments in two 0.25 Ha blocks (Shiraz and Semillon), including annual cultivation for seed bed preparation, the deliberate exclusion of PVB (25 years) and incorporation of PVB (13 years) at an average of 3.4 and 5.5 Mg/Ha-1 for Shiraz and Semillon respectively. In both 0-10cm and 10-30cm soil core sample depths, combined soil carbon % measures in the desired range of 1.80 to 3.50, were not significantly different between treatments or cultivars and yielded an estimated 42 Mg/ha-1 of sequestered soil carbon. Other key physical and chemical measures were likewise not significantly different between treatments. Preliminary results suggest that in a temperate zone vineyard, managed such as the one used in this study, there is no long term negative impact on soil carbon sequestration through removing PVB. This implies that growers could confidently harvest PVB for use in several end fates including as a bio fuel.

The gustatory balance of dry wines is centered on three flavors, sourness, bitterness and sweetness. Even if certain compounds were already identified as contributing to sweetness, some taste modifications remain largely unexplained1,2. Some empirical observations combined with sensory analyzes have shown that an increase of wine sweetness occurs during post-fermentation maceration³. This step is a key stage of red winemaking during which the juice is left in contact with the marc, that contains the solid parts of the grape (seeds, skins and sometimes stems). This work aimed to identify a new taste-active compound that contributes to this gain of sweetness.

In a long-term experiment carried out in Chinon vineyard (37, France) during 23 years, the effects of several organic amendments were studied on soil, vine, grapes and wine. Four main treatments were compared on a calcareous sandy soil: control without organic amendment, dry crushed pruning wood at 2.1.t-1.ha-1.year-1 (D1), cow manure at 10 t-1. ha-1.year-1 (D1) and cow manure applied at 20 t-1.ha-1.year-1 (D2). D1 levels were calculated to fill the annual humus losses by mineralization.