Oenococcus oeni is a lactic acid bacterium highly adapted to the stressful environment of wine, and is widely used as an industrial starter culture to conduct malolactic fermentation (MLF), the conversion of L‐malate to L‐lactate. Some cold‐climate wine regions still produce wines which prove too stressful for the application of a starter culture, resulting in sluggish or stuck MLFs which compromise

Phenotypic traits of grape bunches are known to be related with grapevine yield, wine flavour and sensitivity to disease. Aiming to solve a phenotypic bottleneck in current breeding studies as well as to improve the performance of phenotypic tools, we put forward a combination of grammar‐based reconstruction and vision‐based reconstruction, and propose an empirical reconstruction grammar restricted

The effect of the timing of the initiation of irrigation during the growing season on Vitis vinifera L. Cabernet Sauvignon vines was investigated during 5 successive years.

Italy is the richest grape‐producing country in terms of cultivars. Our aims were to describe the diversity of astringency of Italian red wines from 11 cultivars, Teroldego, Corvina, Raboso, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Montepulciano, Cannonau, Aglianico, Primitivo and Nerello, and to test correlations between in‐mouth sensory variables and chemical composition.

‘Terroir’ is a term used to describe how climate, microclimate, geology, soil, topography and vitivinicultural history affect the taste and aroma of a wine produced from a vineyard. This study investigates one aspect of terroir—the topography—for Chablis, a white wine‐producing region of France.

The development of an efficient clonal selection process requires the study of genotype‐by‐environment (G × E) interaction. This work aims to evaluate the variability of the G × E interaction among genotypes and to identify the less sensitive ones.

Governo all'uso toscano (GUT) is a traditional winemaking practice where withered grapes are added to a freshly fermented wine. This results in a second alcoholic fermentation and a distinctive wine, in which there is renewed interest. Grape withering is problematic for winemakers, however, both in terms of cost and risks. It is therefore important to determine the minimum amount of withered grapes

During winemaking, alcoholic and malolactic fermentations are usually conducted by strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Oenococcus oeni , respectively. Although most commercial wines are produced via inoculation with both yeast and bacteria, uninoculated fermentations can increase microbial diversity, leading to more complex wines. In this study, Chardonnay must was subjected to a combination of

Recently, early defoliation (ED) has been used widely to regulate yield and reduce bunch compactness to improve tolerance to bunch rot. The aim of this study was to test ED, as an alternative to the conventional crop thinning (CT), to regulate yield and improve tolerance to bunch rot of the Vitis vinifera L. cv. Aragonez.

Vitis vinifera seeds from one Medieval and two Roman‐era archaeological sites in Galicia (north‐western Spain) were morphologically compared to seeds of different cultivated varieties (V. vinifera subsp. sativa ) in the same areas and with those of wild grapevines (V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris ) from different parts of Spain and the French Basque Country.

Some grapevine cultivars such as Malbec have unstable yield, due to poor fruitset or fruitlet abscission. The phenomenon is known as ‘shatter’ and this study aims to explore the potential of applying the shoot girdling technique at flowering, to direct the carbohydrate partitioning towards inflorescences and reduce shatter.

Optical leaf sensing of plant nitrogen (N) status enables fertilisation based on plant demand. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of leaf reflectance indices and of a handheld device for the estimation of N and chlorophyll (Chl) in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Riesling.

The total concentration of copper (Cu) in wine cannot be routinely measured without relatively expensive equipment, reagents and/or without labour‐intensive sample pretreatment. The following research describes an approach for the colorimetric measurement of total Cu in wine utilising a spectrophotometer and relatively cheap reagents.

The economic value of wine has increased over the years due to the emergence of new producers and new markets. In line with this, the global distribution of research outputs in viticulture and oenology has also shifted since this informs wine production and consumption. This study investigates the trends in wine and grape publications indexed in Web of Science (2002–2017).

Global warming can lead to technological ripening occurring in advance of phenolic maturity for red wine cultivars. This study evaluated the effect of post‐budburst winter pruning on the phenology, yield components, berry composition and phenolic maturity in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Merlot.

Sampling is problematic in perennial tree and vine crops because organ numbers are vast, budgets are low and maturation of fruit is asynchronous within and between individuals. Typically, the precision and the repeatability of sampling are low and methodologies used in the field vary widely within the industry. We define a combined statistical and cost model for fruit maturity sampling that could be

Regulations in some wine‐producing countries allow water addition to grape must. The research presented compared the impact of water addition to must on wine phenolics and colour relative to that of wines at the same alcohol concentration, prepared from fruit harvested earlier.

Still wine contains a significant but sub‐saturated concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) that remains following alcoholic fermentation. The concentration of CO2 can be adjusted by winemaking practices and may influence wine sensory properties. This study set out to define for the first time the effect of a sub‐saturated level of dissolved carbon dioxide (DCO2) on the taste, overall aroma, flavour

Although most proteins and a significant proportion of phenolic substances are extracted from grape pulp, the extraction of grape skin components may contribute to and modulate the final concentration of these components in juice. This study investigated the influence of skin contact time and various extractants on the extraction of Sauvignon Blanc grape skin components.

The wine sector worldwide consumes a considerable amount of energy, with much of it used for cooling and ventilating cellars (ageing rooms). For this reason, the design of energy efficient cellars is increasingly gaining importance. With the aim of developing cellars that require little or no energy to maintain wine maturation conditions constant, this article presents a synopsis of the principles

The growth and development of grapevine is constrained by temperature, affecting the bulk of physiological processes of the plant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of climate change on thermal resources and limitations in the context of Georgia, one of the oldest viticultural areas in the world.

Whereas cofermentation is a traditional practice in some Old‐World regions, its outcomes are largely unknown in New‐World wine regions. Herein we report the chemical and sensory effects of cofermentation of Syrah with selected Rhône white cultivars.

As grapegrowers move to adapt to climate change, they need more detailed information on what cultivars to plant and where to plant them. The aims of this study were to understand how different cultivars in different regions are responding to changes in climate, in order to inform future cultivar selections.

Generally, grapevine roots have been less studied than the above‐ground parts of the plant. Here we analyse scion–rootstock interactions in mature vines growing in a heavy clay soil in a climate characterised by severe summer drought to investigate the effect of the scion–rootstock interaction in a suboptimal soil.

The threshold for Botrytis contamination of winegrapes is not fully known. Using a measurement of the fungal sterol, ergosterol, we aimed to understand how much grey mould of grapes can be tolerated before there is a perceivable impact on wine sensory characteristics.

Wines aged in wood barrels are likely to contain Brettanomyces yeasts, which are able to produce off‐flavour compounds such as ethylphenols and vinylphenols. In this work, both off‐flavoured and pleasant phenol compounds were quantified in Portuguese wines with an improved analytical technology.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS We sought to determine the influence of selected biological, experiential and psychological variables on self-reported liking and consumption of wine in a sample of 329 Ontario wine consumers. METHODS AND RESULTS Cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups, representing plausible market segments: wine lovers; dry table wine likers/sweet dislikers; and sweet wine likers/fortified