Influence of Different Modalities of Grape Withering on Volatile Compounds of Young and Aged Corvina Wines

Abstract

Withering is a practice traditionally used in various regions to produce sweet or dry wines. During withering there is an increase in sugar content but also a modification in volatile compound profiles. Controlling metabolic changes through the dehydration process to obtain wines with desired characteristics is therefore a challenging opportunity. The effects of two different withering technologies, post-harvest or on-vine with blocked sap vessel flow, on the volatile profile of young and aged Corvina red wines was investigated. The results showed that modulation of wine aroma due to the withering process is associated with fermentative metabolites, such as esters, higher alcohols, and acids, as well as grape-related compounds such as C6 alcohols, terpenes and norisoprenoids. Significant differences were also found by comparing the two withering techniques. Post-harvest in a traditional “fruttaio” warehouse wines showed higher content of ethyl acetate, ethyl butanoate, β-citronellol and 3-oxo-α-ionol, whereas post-harvest withering on-vine increased β-damascenone in wines. The type of withering technique has an influence on the evolution of some aroma compounds during the aging of wine, among them linalool, (E)-1-(2,3,6-trimethylphenyl)buta-1,3-diene (TPB), n-hexyl acetate, ethyl acetate, ethyl 3-methylbutanoate, 3-oxo-α-ionol and β-damascenone.

Volatile and phenolic composition of monovarietal red wines of Valpolicella appellations

“…The sugar level of musts may play an important role in yeast ester production (Ugliano & Henschke, 2009;Antalick et al, 2015;Slaghenaufi et al, 2020a). However, within the whole dataset, no correlation emerged between °Brix in musts and ester content in wines.…”

“…Volatile compounds were extracted and analysed as described by Slaghenaufi et al (2020a) with minor modification. Fifty milliliters of sample were added with 20 μL of internal standard solution (2-octanol at 42 mg/L in ethanol) and diluted with 50 mL of distilled water.…”

13C NMR-Based Chemical Fingerprint for the Varietal and Geographical Discrimination of Wines

“…Many protocols based on different analytical techniques have been reported with the aim of distinguishing between wine samples on the basis of cultivar, geographical, biological, and processes information. Some techniques, such as high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) [ 5 ], mass spectrometry (MS) coupled with inductively coupled plasma (ICP/MS) [ 6 ], or with gas chromatography (GC) [ 7 , 8 ] require specific sample treatments as the solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME). On the other hand, other techniques, such as IR [ 9 ] or Raman [ 10 ] spectroscopy have been employed in combination with chemometrics to determine a fingerprint specific to each wine type, resulting in effectiveness and time saving.…”

Special Issue “Volatile Compounds and Smell Chemicals (Odor and Aroma) of Food”

“…Six of the research papers were mainly focused on the sensory aspects related to volatile compounds [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], and another six papers investigated aspects related to processing [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], five papers were more oriented to the quality of the products [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ], cultivation practice [ 15 ] and storage [ 16 , 17 ], two further papers were more focused on measurement techniques and procedures [ 18 , 19 ]. Lastly, the two review papers reviewed the sensory characteristics (flavour and texture) linked to a physiological disorder of apple, namely watercore [ 20 ] and the influence of ruminant diet on the volatile flavour compounds in cheese [ 21 ].…”

“…Slaghenaufi et al [ 15 ] studied how different modalities of grape withering may influence volatile compounds in young and aged Corvina wines. The fermentative volatile metabolites responsible for wine aroma modulation were affected by the withering process, and in particular, the on-vine withering with blocked xylem is an interesting alternative to conventional fruit withering for the production of wines where a mild withering is requested.…”