Influence of Soil Chemical Features on Aromatic Profile of V. vinifera cv. Corvina Grapes and Wines: A Study-Case in Valpolicella Area (Italy) in a Calcareous and Non-Calcareous Soil

In the Valpolicella area (Verona, Italy) one of the most important Italian wines is being produced: Amarone, predominately made by Vitis vinifera cv. Corvina. This wine is subjected to a specific postharvest process, namely, withering, which aims to increase alcohol content and/or high residual sugars while retaining richness in aromas and organoleptic compounds. In accordance with guidelines and strict Amarone protocol set by the Consorzio of Amarone-Valpolicella, withering must be carried out by setting the grapes in a suitable environment. In our study, the withering process was performed following the traditional methods, i.e., in open-air, natural environmental conditions, as generally performed by winegrowers, leading to a weight loss in grapes of up to 30%. Whilst the effect of different postharvest conditions is clear and studied, it is interesting to know how soil can affect both grapes and wine profile, in terms of aromas, which are of great importance for this crafted wine. For this purpose, for two study years, the influence of two different sites (with regards to the carbonates’ content) on aromas were investigated. Furthermore, microvinifications and the sensory profile of the resulting wines were analysed. Our results clearly indicated that different soils’ characteristics, particularly differences in carbonate content, had an important effect, not only on the aromatic compounds of grapes and wines, but on the sensory profile as well. This information will help winegrowers and winemakers in the process of determining site selection for future vineyards in order to obtain a final optimum Amarone wine, in terms of its aromatic composition—one that is able to respond to the market demand

Pre-fermentative cold maceration in the presence of non-Saccharomyces strains: effect on fermentation behaviour and volatile composition of a red wine

Background and Aims This study evaluated the impact of pre‐fermentative cold maceration (PCM), in the presence of two non‐Saccharomyces yeasts, Metschnikowia pulcherrima MP 346 and Metschnikowia fructicola MF 98‐3, and of a commercial pectic enzyme, on fermentation kinetics and on the volatile composition of a Sangiovese red wine. Methods and Results Sangiovese grape must was inoculated with MP 346 or MF 98‐3 or treated with a pectic enzyme preparation during PCM, at 5°C for 24 or 72 h. A Control wine was produced by a pure culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both non‐Saccharomyces strains affected the initial yeast population dynamics and the persistence of S. cerevisiae at the end of malolactic fermentation. Irrespective of the duration of PCM, the inoculum of Metschnikowia strains did not influence the rate of sugar consumption or the kinetics of malolactic fermentation. The volatile composition of the final wines was evaluated with solid‐phase extraction, followed by GC/MS. The concentration of some terpenes and C13‐norisoprenoids, nerol, geraniol, 8‐hydroxy‐linalool (cis) and 3‐oxo‐α‐ionol, and of some esters, isoamyl lactate and ethyl isoamyl succinate, was higher in wines inoculated with Metschnikowia strains than in the Control and wine treated with pectic enzyme. Conclusions Metschnikowia yeast strains MP 346 and MF 98‐3 affect wine volatile composition. Significance of the Study This study shows for the first time that an inoculum of Metschnikowia strains MP 346 and MF 98‐3 during PCM is effective in modulating the volatile composition of a Sangiovese red wine

Chemistry and Technology of Wine Aging with Oak Chips

The use of wood chips is a common winemaking practice that has been permitted in Europe since the early 2000s. The use of oak chips, or other wood alternative products, has not always been favorably viewed by both producers and wine consumers. Beyond possible misuse, however, wood chips are a useful tool for the optimal achievement of numerous oenological objectives, including the extraction of certain volatile odor compounds from oak wood chips as well as compounds that will improve wine quality. This chapter deals with the main oenological uses of oak wood chips, the chemical transformations that underlie this practice and the effect of their utilization on wine quality. A final aspect concerns the main compositional and sensory differences between wines aged in barrel and those aged with alternative products, as well as the discriminative analytical methods used for this purpose

Characterisation of refined marc distillates with alternative oak products using different analytical approaches

The use of oak barrel alternatives, including oak chips, oak staves and oak powder, is quite common in the production of spirits obtained from the distillation of vegetal fermented products such as grape pomace. This work explored the use of unconventional wood formats such as peeled and sliced wood. The use of poplar wood was also evaluated to verify its technological uses to produce aged spirits. To this aim, GC-MS analyses were carried out to obtain an aromatic characterisation of experimental distillates treated with these products. Moreover, the same spirits were studied for classification purposes using NMR, NIR and e-nose. A significant change in the original composition of grape pomace distillate due to sorption phenomena was observed; the intensity of this effect was greater for poplar wood. The release of aroma compounds from wood depended both on the toasting level and wood assortment. Higher levels of xylovolatiles, namely, whisky lactone, were measured in samples aged using sliced woods. Both the NIR and NMR analyses highlighted similarities among samples refined with oak tablets, differentiating them from the other wood types. Finally, E-nose seemed to be a promising alternative to spectroscopic methods both for the simplicity of sample preparation and method portability

Bark and Grape Microbiome of Vitis vinifera: Influence of Geographic Patterns and Agronomic Management on Bacterial Diversity

In recent years, the concept of “microbial terroir” has been introduced in the frame of the more renowned notion of “vitivinicultural terroir,’ since several studies demonstrated that wine characteristics are related to regional microbial community compositions. Most of the existing research focused on grape berries microbiota, since it can directly impact wine quality. In this work we studied, for the first time through next-generation sequencing, the epiphytic bacterial community of vine bark and its relationships with grape microbiota. The study was carried out in two Italian wine appellations (situated in different regions) to explore the impact of biogeography, and the influence of two agronomical practices (biodynamic and conventional) was evaluated as well. Overall, our results show that grapevine bark harbors a rich epiphytic microbiota and displays a higher microbial biodiversity than grape berry. Moreover, this study suggests that geographic and anthropogenic factors impact both bark and grape bacteriomes, but to a different extent. The evidence of a “microbial terroir” seems to be even more marked in bark than in berries, possibly due to its permanence over time and to its physical proximity with soil. The importance of vine trunk bark, as potential source of inoculum for grapes and as interesting bacterial diversity habitat, is evidenced. This opens new fields of investigation, not only for researchers that aim at describing this little-known habitat within the vineyard, but also for stakeholders from the wine industry that want to understand the roles of microorganisms on the entire winemaking process, from vineyard to cellar

Bollettino Sismico Italiano: Analisys of Early Aftershocks of the 2016 MW 6.0 Amatrice, MW 5.9 Visso and MW 6.5 Norcia earthquakes in Central Italy

The Amatrice-Visso-Norcia seismic sequence is the most important of the last 30 years in Italy. The seismic sequence started on 24 August, 2016 and still is ongoing in central Apennines. At the end of February 2017 more than 57,000 events were located, 80,000 events up to the end of September 2017 (Fig. 1). The mainshocks of the sequence occurred on 24 August 2016 (Mw 6.0 and Mw 5.4), 26 October 2016 (Mw 5.4 and Mw 5.9), 30 October 2016 (Mw 6.5), 18 January 2017 (four earthquakes Mw≥ 5.0). In this seismic sequence, all the waveforms recorded by temporary stations deployed by the SISMIKO emergency group (stations T12**; Moretti et al., 2016) where available in real- time at the surveillance room of INGV. Because of the high level of seismicity and the dense seismic network installed in the region, more than 150 events per day were located at the end of February 2017; still 60 events per day were located up to the end of August 2017.The Amatrice-Visso-Norcia is the most important seismic sequence since 2015, the time when the analysis procedures of the BSI group (Bollettino Sismico Italiano) were revised (Nardi et al., 2015). BSI is now available every four months on the web: bulletins contain revised earthquakes (location and magnitude) with ML≥ 1.5, quasi-real time revision of ML≥ 3.5 earthquakes and phase arrivals from waveforms recorded on seismic stations available from the European Integrated Data Archive (EIDA), (Mazza et al., 2012). These last procedures allow the integration of signals from temporary seismic stations (Moretti et al., 2014) installed by the emergency group SISMIKO (Moretti and Sismiko working group, 2016), even when they are not in real time transmission, if they are rapidly archived in EIDA, together with real time signals from the seismic stations of the permanent INGV network. The analysis strategy of the BSI group for the Amatrice -Visso - Norcia seismic sequence (AVN.s.s in the following) was to select the earthquakes located in the box with min/max latitude: 42.2/43.2 - and min/max longitude: 12.4/14.1 to prepare a special volume of BSI on the seismic sequence.PublishedTrieste, Italy1SR. TERREMOTI - Servizi e ricerca per la Societ

Bollettino Sismico Italiano gennaio – aprile 2019

Nel periodo che va dal 1 gennaio al 30 aprile 2019, gli analisti del BSI hanno revisionato tutti gli eventi di magnitudo M≥1.5, mentre i parametri dei terremoti di magnitudo inferiore a tale soglia di revisione sono stati calcolati in tempo reale, nella sala di sorveglianza sismica di Roma.Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Dipartimento di Protezione CivilePublished4IT. Banche dat

Bollettino Sismico Italiano gennaio – aprile 2018

Nel primo quadrimestre 2018 si sono verificati in Italia cinque eventi di magnitudo superiore o uguale a 4.0, di cui nessuno di magnitudo superiore a 5.0. Due di essi, avvenuti il 4 (MW 4.0) e il 10 aprile (MW 4.6), hanno interessato la zona della sequenza dell’Italia centrale, in provincia di Macerata. Un terremoto di magnitudo MW 4.3 è avvenuto in provincia di Campobasso, il 25 aprile, ad una profondità di 29 km. Infine due terremoti profondi, avvenuti il 12 febbraio (ML 4.4, con profondità di 379 km) e il 7 marzo (ML 4.0, con profondità di 294 km), hanno interessato il Tirreno Meridionale, al largo della costa calabra.Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Dipartimento di Protezione CivilePublished4IT. Banche dat