Influence of Grape Berry Maturity on Juice and Base Wine Composition and Foaming Properties of Sparkling Wines from the Champagne Region.

Pin-He Liu,Richard Marchal,Sandrine Jégou,Duc An Hoang,Céline Vrigneau,Thomas Salmon,Jean-Claude Boulet

doi:10.3390/molecules23061372

Abstract

In sparkling wine cool-climate regions like Champagne, it is sometimes necessary to pick the healthy grape clusters that have a relatively low maturity level to avoid the deleterious effects of Botrytis cinerea. In such conditions, we know that classical oenological parameters (sugars, pH, total acidity) may change but there is little information concerning the impact of grape berry maturity on wine proteins and foaming properties. Therefore, healthy grapes (Chardonnay and Pinot meunier) in 2015 and 2016 were picked at different maturity levels within the range of common industrial maturity for potential alcohol content 8–11% v/v in the Champagne region. Base wine protein content and foamability, and oenological parameters in grape juice and their corresponding base wines, were investigated. The results showed that base wine protein contents (analyzed by the Bradford method and by electrophoresis) and foamability were higher when the grapes were riper. The Pearson’s correlation test found significant positive correlations (r = 0.890–0.997, p < 0.05) between Chardonnay grape berry maturity degree (MD) and base wine foamability in both vintages. Strong correlations between MD and most of the oenological parameters in grape juice and base wine were also found for the two cultivars. Under the premise of guaranteed grape health, delaying harvest date is an oenological decision capable of improving base wine protein content and foamability.

Highlights

Grape berry maturity is critical to control the quality of grape juice and wine and to determine harvest time
The oenological parameters determined for Pinot meunier (PM) and CH grape juices at different grape berry maturity levels and the corresponding base wines are shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively
We pay particular attention to the correlations that explain the impact of grape maturity on the wine protein contents and foamability

Summary

Introduction

Grape berry maturity is critical to control the quality of grape juice and wine and to determine harvest time. A juice sugar content of 135 g/L (or a PAC of 8% v/v) is not considered to have sufficient sensorial maturity [1]. It is accepted by the Champagne wine industry, because this low maturity could be compensated by blending with more mature wines from the same or previous vintages stored in stainless steel tanks for between one to four years [2]. According to the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (C.I.V.C.), the average PAC of ‘Cuvée’ grape juice was 9.4% v/v in both vintages 2007 and 2011, while 10.6% v/v in vintage

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion