 IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Approaches to the classification of wine aroma aging potential. Applications to the case of Valpolicella red wines

Approaches to the classification of wine aroma aging potential. Applications to the case of Valpolicella red wines

Abstract

AIM: Unlike most of other foods, wine sensory quality is thought to reach a peak after an aging period. In the case of the Valpolicella red wines, the PDO regulation requires wines to undergo a minimum period of aging comprised between one and four years depending on the wine type. During this period many changes in wine composition take place, including significant modifications to wine aroma composition, through a wide range of acid hydrolysis reactions, cyclization, rearrangements and oxidations, that to date are only partly understood. Among these, hydrolysis of esters and glycosidic precursors is considered central to wine aroma evolution. Wines with higher content of precursors are expected to have greater aroma potential. However, acid-catalysed degradation also takes place during wine aging, so that the actual content of a given volatile compound after a period of aging is given by the balance between acid-driven release and degradation. The aim of this study was to investigate the fate of some volatile aroma compounds important for the sensory profile of Valpolicella wine.

METHODS: Different Valpolicella wines obtained from grapes harvested in different vineyards and vintages were submitted to two different ageing protocols. In one case wines were kept for 30 days at 16°C and 40 °C (Slaghenaufi et al. 2019) the latter simulating an aging of approximately one years. In the second case, harsher conditions were applied, consisting of 60°C (±0.2°C) for 0, 48, 72, and 168 (Silva Ferreira et al. 2003). Free volatile compounds and glycosidic precursors were analysed with SPE- and SPME-GC-MS techniques.

RESULTS: Several classes of compounds of varietal and fermentative origin like esters, terpenes, norisoprenoids and to a lesser extent of some benzenoids were affected by aging. In particular aged wines were characterized by increased content of 1,4- and 1,8-cineole, p-cymene and p-menthane-1,8-diol, branched chain fatty acids ethyl esters, TDN, TPB, vitispirane, and 2,6-dimethoxyphenol. The application of the harsh aging treatment allowed to highlight highly significant relationships between cineole occurrence in aged wines and linalool content of the young wine, in particular the ratio between glycosylated and free forms. Furthermore, most of acetic and ethyl esters were found to decrease with aging in an amount correlated to their initial content.

Conclusions

Occurence and amount of many compounds in aged wines was correlated to the composition of specific compounds in young wines. In particular in aged wines cineole occurrence was linked to linalool content, providing useful clues for the selection of young wines with specific aging attitude.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Azienda Agricola f.lli Tedeschi is acknowledged for financial support

DOI:

Publication date: September 13, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Giovanni Luzzini

University of Verona,Davide SLAGHENAUFI, University of Verona Maurizio, UGLIANO, University of Verona Jessica, SAMANIEGO-SOLIS, University of Verona Riccardo TEDESCHI, Azienda Agricola F.lli Tedeschi

Contact the author

Keywords

aging treatment, cineoles, linalool, balsamic aroma, valpolicella

Citation

Contribution of Piperitone to the mint nuances perceived in the aging bouquet of red Bordeaux wines

During the tasting of a fine, old wine, the aromas generated in the glass are intertwined in an intimate, complex manner, expressing the fragrance of the aging bouquet. This aging bouquet, which develops during bottle storage through a complex transformation process, may result in a broad palette of nuances. Among these, undergrowth, truffle, toasted, spicy, licorice, fresh red- and black-berry fruit and mint descriptors were recently identified as features of its olfactory representation for red Bordeaux wines. Although a targeted chemical approach focusing on volatile sulfur compounds revealed the role played by dimethyl sulfide, 2-furanmethanethiol, and 3-sulfanylhexanol as molecular markers of the typicality of the wine aging bouquet of red Bordeaux wines, its chemical transcription has only partially been elucidated.

Somatic embryogenesis and polyploidy in grapevine: morphological shoot and leaf traits variations

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) has been used in a variety of biotechnology applications such as virus elimination, cryopreservation, induced mutagenesis and genetic transformation. The SE induction process may cause DNA alterations and ploidy changes, which may provide a source of genetic variability useful for the improvement of agronomic characteristics of plants. This research aims at investigating the spontaneous alterations of the genome in grapevine plants regenerated through SE. Regenerants obtained from different embryogenic events from three different grapevine genotypes (Catarratto, Frappato and Nero d’Avola) were analysed.

Developing effective physiological strategies to rejuvenate virus-infected vineyards by lowering the virus load in infected grapevines

Context and purpose of the study. The wine industries face significant challenges from two highly detrimental viruses: leafroll and red blotch.

Piloting grape ripening in a global warming scenario: feasible techniques are available

Under the pressure of global warming, several wine grape growing regions around the world are increasingly suffering from advanced and compressed phenology; endangering wine character while also creating serious logistic problems. From a physiological standpoint, the issue of delaying ripening is not simple as, in several instances, only a few processes must be delayed (i.e. sugar accumulation into the berries) while other events such as pigmentation and accumulation of other important phenolic compounds should proceed at a normal rate. Thus, the issue of decoupling technological maturity from phenolic maturity is another important consideration. Over the last decades, several research groups have endeavored to establish alternate cultural practices aimed at addressing this decoupling. In some cases, special applications of quite robust and well known practices regarding physiological principles have been utilized, however some completely new techniques are also being studied. In figure 1 of the review, we offer a panorama of the available tools and in the text we elaborate on those having provided most reliable and consistent results under an array of genotypes and environmental conditions. Among these, primary focus is given to post‐veraison—apical to the cluster—leaf removal (that can also be suitably replaced by applications of anti‐transpirants); the use of kaolin against multiple summers’ stresses; and a drastic version of late winter pruning having the potential to postpone ripening into a cooler period with improved grape composition and a limited negative impact on yield and storage reserves replenishment.

Identifying best parameters to characterize genotypes capability of retaining adequate malic acid at harvest and in final wines

Under current climate change pressures, obtaining grapes with adequate acidity at harvest is one of the main challenges for growers, especially if the goal is producing sparkling wines. This issue arises from two main occurrences: i) higher temperatures enhance degradation of malic acid; ii) grape maturity may occur under suboptimal climatic conditions due to an advanced phenology.