FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ACS News Service Weekly PressPac: July 14, 2021
Slowing down grape ripening can improve berry quality for winemaking
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Wine grapes are particularly finicky when it comes to their environment. For instance, heatwaves and droughts lead to earlier berry ripening and lackluster wine. And these types of episodes are expected to intensify as Earth’s climate changes. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’Ì�Journal of Agricultural and Food ChemistryÌýhave tweaked growing conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to slow down their ripening, which increased the levels of compounds associated with wine’s characteristic floral and fruity notes.
As grapes ripen and change color from light green to deep red, sugars and aroma compounds accumulate in the berries. But, when they ripen quickly because of heat or water stress, the resulting fruits produce a less desirable wine with more alcohol, a duller color and a lingering taste of cooked fruit. To counteract these negative effects of climate change on wine quality, scientists have been testing different ways to grow the plants. Previous researchers have shown that reducing the crop on the vines can speed-up grape ripening, while more intense irrigation later in the growing season can delay the process. Christopher Ford and colleagues wanted to examine the impacts of these techniques on the chemical components that contribute to the berries� quality.
The researchers grew Cabernet Sauvignon wine grapes at a commercial vineyard in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Then, they either removed a portion of the clusters on the vines, irrigated the plants more during the later growing season, did both or did neither, and collected grapes throughout the ripening period. The plants with the fewest berry clusters had the fastest increase in sugar content and were ripe the earliest for all of the tested conditions. However, the plants that were both thinned and watered more had the slowest rate of sugar accumulation. The researchers found that slowing down grape ripening decreased six-carbon aldehydes and alcohols and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine � associated with green and vegetal wine notes � and increased norisoprenoids and terpenes � associated with pleasant floral and fruity wine notes. The longer growing time improved the quality of grapes for winemaking, the researchers explained, but these adaptation strategies should be monitored over several years before changes are made to current practices.
The authors acknowledge funding from theÌý,Ìý,Ìý,ÌýÌý²¹²Ô»åÌý.
Ìý
###
The American Chemical Öйú365betÖÐÎĹÙÍø (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Öйú365betÖÐÎĹÙÍø is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodicalÌýChemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACSâ€� main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
Registered journalists can subscribe to the to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.
Media Contact
ACS Newsroom
newsroom@acs.org
###
La sociedad American Chemical Öйú365betÖÐÎĹÙÍø (ACS) es una organización sin fines de lucro fundada en 1876 y aprobada por el Congreso de los Estados Unidos. La ACS se ha comprometido a mejorar la vida de todas las personas mediante la transformación del poder de la quÃmica. Su misión es promover el conocimiento cientÃfico, empoderar a la comunidad global y defender la integridad cientÃfica, y su visión es un mundo construido basándose en la ciencia. La Sociedad es lÃder mundial en la promoción de la excelencia en la educación cientÃfica y en el acceso a información e investigación relacionadas con la quÃmica a través de sus múltiples soluciones de investigación, publicaciones revisadas por expertos, conferencias cientÃficas, libros electrónicos y noticias semanales periódicas de Chemical & Engineering News. Las revistas de la ACS se encuentran entre las más citadas, las más fiables y las más leÃdas en la literatura cientÃfica; sin embargo, la propia ACS no realiza investigación quÃmica. Como lÃder en soluciones de información cientÃfica, su división CAS se asocia con innovadores internacionales para acelerar los avances mediante la preservación, la conexión y el análisis de los conocimientos cientÃficos del mundo. Las sedes principales de la ACS se encuentran en Washington, D.C., y Columbus, Ohio.
Los periodistas registrados pueden suscribirse al en EurekAlert! para acceder a comunicados de prensa públicos y retenidos.Ìý Para consultas de los medios, comunÃquese con newsroom@acs.org.
Nota: ACS no realiza investigaciones, pero publica y divulga estudios cientÃficos revisados por expertos.â€�
;void(0);){kind=link}