Winemaking processes and oenological practices

Climate change is drastically modifying grape composition and wine quality. As consequence, must and wines are becoming unbalanced, with high sugar concentration, increased alcohol content, lower acidity, excessive astringency, color instability and also a rise in the incidence of tartaric instability is being showed.

The Tannat grape, native to the foothills of the Pyrenees in France, is known for producing wines with intense colour, exceptional tannic structure, and remarkable aging potential. These distinctive characteristics are attributed to its unique genome, making Tannat one of the grape varieties with the highest tannins concentration.

Moscatel de Setúbal is a Portuguese fortified wine with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO Setúbal), made from Moscatel de Setúbal grape variety (Muscat of Alexandria) [1].

The global non-alcoholic wine market is projected to grow from USD 2.7 billion in 2024 to USD 6.97 billion by 2034, driven by health awareness, lifestyle shifts, and religious factors [1-3]. Consequently, the removal of alcohol can significantly alter the key quality parameters of wine.

Wine cellars are affected by seasonally fluctuating workloads and face challenges especially in the harvest period connected to the required timely processing of the harvested grapes.

Wines made with grapes submitted to postharvest dehydration are often referred to as "passito" or "straw wines." This distinct style of winemaking consists of a process of water loss that allows the berries to undergo a mild water stress and senescence process [1].