Quality assessment of grapes and wines of the Alminskiy terroir (Crimean Western-Coastal Piedmont viticultural and winemaking region)

Abstract

Climatic conditions significantly impact the technology of grape cultivation, starting with selecting of varieties, choosing a place to establish a vineyard, and finishing with determining the harvesting time. The study of the effect of abiotic environmental factors on the quality characteristics of grapes and their products of processing is a hot topic. Assessment of the Crimean western-coastal piedmont viticulture and winemaking region was carried out in accordance with the climatic factors. Their impact on the carbohydrate-acid complex of grape varieties ‘Aligote’, ‘Rkatsiteli’, ‘Cabernet-Sauvignon’ and ‘Merlot’, as well as wines from these varieties, was studied. The sum of active temperatures in the region varied in the range of 3100°C - 3650°C. The hydrothermal coefficient was 0.35-0.76, which characterized the region as arid. Grapes cultivated in this region reach technical ripeness, mass concentration of sugars ranges from 186 to 260 g/L. An inverse correlation between the mass concentration of titratable acids in grapes and precipitation amount during the growing season (r= -0.63) was established. The wines prepared were characterized by distinctive varietal characteristics.