Phenolic characterization of minor red grape varieties grown in Castilla-La Mancha region in different vinification stages

Strategies in vineyard establishment to face global warming in viticulture: a mini review

Different technological solutions are developing in the wine industry to mitigate the negative effects of the current global warming to mainly achieve wines with a lower alcohol content. These proposed solutions mostly act at the oenological level and are focused on intervening in the raw material to be transformed; that is, on reducing the concentration of sugar in the must using filtration techniques or also on wine dealcoholizing by physical processes. These techniques are intended to offer solutions and respond to new consumer expectations, but they may be considered too artificial to be widely accepted. In this way, viticultural strategies may offer a natural solution to obtain grapes with low sugar content, maximizing their quality by delaying ripening. This mini review surveys the viticultural strategies that can be applied in the establishment of a vineyard - that is, when it comes to planting of a new vineyard - such as vineyard altitude, latitude, orientation, and slope, as well as rootstock, variety, clone, training system, and row orientation and slope, with the aim to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on grape and wine quality and to delay grape maturation. Finally, we propose a ponderation of the strategies discussed to contextualize its importance to face global warming in viticulture. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Phenolic Compounds as Markers of Wine Quality and Authenticity

Targeted and untargeted determinations are being currently applied to different classes of natural phenolics to develop an integrated approach aimed at ensuring compliance to regulatory prescriptions related to specific quality parameters of wine production. The regulations are particularly severe for wine and include various aspects of the viticulture practices and winemaking techniques. Nevertheless, the use of phenolic profiles for quality control is still fragmented and incomplete, even if they are a promising tool for quality evaluation. Only a few methods have been already validated and widely applied, and an integrated approach is in fact still missing because of the complex dependence of the chemical profile of wine on many viticultural and enological factors, which have not been clarified yet. For example, there is a lack of studies about the phenolic composition in relation to the wine authenticity of white and especially rosé wines. This review is a bibliographic account on the approaches based on phenolic species that have been developed for the evaluation of wine quality and frauds, from the grape varieties (of V. vinifera and non vinifera), to the geographical origin, the vintage year, the winemaking process, and wine aging. Future perspectives on the role of phenolic compounds in different wine quality aspects, which should be still exploited, are also outlined.

Spraying Ozonated Water on Bobal Grapevines: Effect on Wine Quality

Ozonated water is being introduced as an alternative phytosanitary treatment to control grapevine diseases in a context in which the reduction of chemical pesticides has become an urgent necessity. In this study, we evaluated the effect of spraying grapevines with ozonated water on the enological, phenolic, and aromatic qualities of Bobal wines during two consecutive growing seasons. In the first season, ozonated water was applied once during the ripening period on grapevines trained on the traditional gobelet system (S₁). In the second season, three applications were performed between fruit set and harvest on grapevines grown on a vertical trellis system (S₂). The S₁ treatment led to a wine with an increased alcoholic degree and a remarkably higher phenolic content, which resulted in preferable chromatic characteristics. The S₂ treatment maintained the total phenolic content but significantly enhanced stilbenes and flavanols and also reduced anthocyanins, which negatively affected the wine colour. Regarding aroma, both treatments reduced the content of glycosylated precursors and had different effects on free volatiles, both varietal and fermentative. Thus, the metabolic response of grapevines to the ozonated water stress, and therefore the quality of wines, depended on the ozone dose received by the plants.

Resurgence of minority and autochthonous grapevine varieties in South America: a review of their oenological potential

In contrast with the general trend of producing wine from the most famous grapevine varieties, associated with the French paradigm, such as Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, there is a tendency to revalorize and preserve minority or autochthonous grapevine varieties worldwide. The South American wine region, where most of the varieties derived from varieties brought after European colonization, is not exempt from this. This has allowed new wines to be provided with distinctive identities that are markedly different from the current homogeneous wine production. Moreover, varietal homogenization increases vineyard genetic vulnerability in relation to the emergence of grapevine diseases, to which the commonly cultivated varieties are not resistant. This review summarizes the oenological potential of minority or autochthonous grapevine varieties cultivated within the South American wine region, focusing on Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Feasibility of using integrated fingerprinting, profiling and chemometrics approach to understand (bio) chemical changes throughout commercial red winemaking: A case study on Merlot

This study assessed the feasibility of using a multiplatform approach; integrating untargeted fingerprinting of volatiles and targeted profiling of phenolic and oenological attributes (soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity and colour properties) coupled with chemometrics to understand complex (bio) chemical reactions occurring during Merlot red winemaking. The changes were investigated at three winemaking stages, starting from pre-maceration (PM), maceration-alcoholic fermentation (MAF) up to completion of malolactic fermentation (MLF). Merlot musts at PM were characterised by lighter colour and higher amount of green aroma-related volatiles. Completion of MAF led to increased extraction of anthocyanins, flavonols, and stilbenes, resulting in a more intense and darker fermenting juice. Furthermore, development of yeast-fermentation associated volatiles such as esters and alcohols was observed at this stage. The final wine, when MLF was completed, was rich in phenolic acids, esters, alcohols, and terpenes. The multiplatform analytical approach was effective to unravel the complex reactions throughout Merlot winemaking process and find relevant markers, which could help to predict expected quality attributes in the finished wine.

Spraying ozonated water on Bobal grapevines: Effect on grape quality

Ozone is a powerful oxidant that is increasingly used as sanitizing agent in the wine industry and even in the vineyard to control grapevine diseases. In this study, we evaluated the effect on grape enological quality of ozonated water spraying treatments carried out in Bobal grapevines during two consecutive harvest seasons. In the first season, ozonated water was applied once during the ripening period on grapevines trained on the traditional gobelet system (S₁). In the second season, ozonated water was applied three times between the fruit set and harvest on grapevines grown on a vertical trellis system (S₂). Grape quality on harvest day was evaluated through several enological and chromatic parameters, the phenolic maturity, the Varietal Aroma Potential Index (IPAv) and the phenolic and volatile composition. The S₁ treatment had a positive effect on the technological maturity, the chromatic parameters, the seed maturity and the content of glycosylated aroma precursors, phenolic compounds and free terpenoids of grapes. The S₂ treatment also improved the technological maturity and the content of total anthocyanins (pH 1.0) and free terpenoids, but had a negative impact on the chromatic parameters, the anthocyanin extractability and the content of glycosylated aroma precursors and phenolic compounds. Therefore, ozonated water sprayed on Bobal grapevines affected the quality of grapes, but the effect seemed to depend on the number of applications.

First chemical and sensory characterization of Moribel and Tinto Fragoso wines using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS, GC-MS, and Napping® techniques: comparison with Tempranillo

BACKGROUND

Due to the current dominance of a few grape varieties in the wine market, the aim of this work was to study the detailed phenolic and volatile composition, chromatic characteristics, and sensorial properties of red wines elaborated with new Vitis vinifera grapes (Moribel and Tinto Fragoso) identified using the High Perfomance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detector-Electrospray Ionization-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS), Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), CIELab color space, and Napping ® techniques.

RESULTS

Tinto Fragoso wine showed higher phenolic content than Moribel, with more anthocyanins, flavonols, and stilbenes. These wines also contained anthocyanin diglucosides not reported for Vitis vinifera wines. The odor activity values of free volatile compounds were calculated to indicate their influence on wine aroma, the fruity aromas of Moribel standing out particularly. The wines studied were positively evaluated by the tasters. Moribel's sensory profile was characterized by red fruit aromas and Tinto Fragoso showed more aromatic intensity and persistence in the mouth.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained from the first characterization of red wines made from novel Vitis vinifera grapes suggest that Moribel and Tinto Fragoso could be appropriate raw materials for the elaboration of quality young red wines. Tinto Fragoso provided wines with sensorial properties different from those of Tempranillo, and could be an alternative to the well known red wines on the market. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.