Journal article

Amending high sugar in V. vinifera cv. Shiraz wine must by pre-fermentation water treatments results in subtle sensory differences for naïve wine consumers

Billy Xynas, Christopher Barnes, Kate Howell

OENO ONE | INT VITICULTURE & ENOLOGY SOC-IVES | Published : 2024

Abstract

Global warming presents challenges to all wine-grape growers and winemakers across the globe. Increasing growing season temperatures means that grapes are harvested with higher sugar concentrations than preferred for high-quality winemaking. The now Australian permitted water-treatment of high-sugar musts can produce wines with lower alcohol levels, however, recent studies show impacts on associated chemical compounds and sensory parameters can affect final wine quality. Commercial applications based on these earlier findings are limited as many focus on one vintage, one or two harvest timings, small wine samples and limited numbers of panellists for sensory analysis. We expand by first inve..

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Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

This work, predominately conducted at the University of Melbourne's Dookie Campus, was funded by Australia's grape growers and winemakers through their investment body, Wine Australia, together with Australian Research Training Program funding from the Australian government. We thank Richard Tallis for supplying the Shiraz grapes from his vineyard in Dookie, Victoria which were used in this study. We also thank the student sensory panellists who put time aside to undertake the wine tastings. We also thank Cameron Patrick, who was instrumental in collating many of the chemical and sensory data sets as presented in the figures and tables.