Wine Cellars Research Articles

Competing with the Sea

In response to the global movement of neoliberal values, the rise of mega-ships has produced a shift towards a vacation trend that is promoted as offering everything you could need … for any age, style or mood. These extravagant floating cities package a vacation where you can be everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. In addition to a borderless onboard multisensory shops, theatres, wine cellars, bars, spas, pools, fitness centres, symphonies, libraries, art galleries, eclectic restaurants, display of rooftop grassy parks and crew ‘from every corner of the world’, passengers also consume offshore itineraries at multiple ports of call. This market-driven industry of cultural fantasy tourism is what Andrew Wood calls an ‘omnitopia’, defined as ‘an architectural and perceptual enclave whose apparently distinct locales (and locals) convey inhabitants to a singular place’ (Wood 2005: 318). These lavish omnitopian palaces are ideal spaces for fuelling unreflexive consuming behaviours that evoke Mikhail Bakhtin’s ideas of an atmosphere of carnival, especially during ocean crossings (and repositioning itineraries) that have many sea days and minimal ports of call. With a participant-observation trajectory, this article will use Celebrity Cruises as a case study to consider the temporal carnivalesque nature of ocean crossings and examine how the brand’s ‘Modern Luxury’ and ‘Starring You’ mandate is manifested onboard through the lavish design and star treatment and through performance events that offer passengers opportunities to enact the fantasy of celebrity status. These onboard amenities are programmed to distract passengers from the existential experience of being at sea and the potential for boredom. However, crossings are rarely smooth sailing despite the cruise lines’ attempts to relegate the natural environment to the background so that the manufactured environment can function proficiently. With increased number of days at sea, less ports of call and a higher risk of rough seas and storms, the ocean is impossible to ignore.

Optoelectronic sensor for measuring ethanol content during grape must fermentation using NIR spectroscopy

The evolution of sugar, alcohol, released CO2 and microbiological activity in fermenting grape must is a matter of the utmost importance for the winemaking industry. Supervising the fermentation process is an awkward and non-comprehensive task, especially in wine cellars where production rates are massive, and enologists usually measure the density of the extracted samples from each fermentation tank manually twice a day, since density is an indicator of the total amount of sugars, ethanol and glycerol. This work shows the design of a fast, low-cost, portable and reliable optoelectronic sensor for measuring ethanol concentration in fermenting grape must samples. Different sets of model solutions, which contain ethanol, fructose, glucose and glycerol dissolved in water and emulate the grape must composition at different stages of the fermentation, were prepared both for calibration and validation. The absorption characteristics of these model solutions were measured by a commercial spectrophotometer in the near-infrared region. Spectra were analyzed using principal component analysis, in order to identify key wavelengths from which valuable information regarding the sample composition can be extracted. Finally, an optoelectronic prototype, based on absorbance measurements at three identified wavelengths, was designed, fabricated and successfully tested both with model solutions and samples from two real fermentations. The system, featuring three LED lamps and their corresponding paired photodiodes operating at 1.20, 1.30 and 1.72 µm, provides the ethanol content by applying a multiple linear regression.

City, architecture and wine: Wine tourism in the contemporary society

In the last decades, the growth of activities related to wine tourism is a potent driver of transformations in territories and societies. Wine landscapes of ancestral regions such as La Rioja in Spain, Bordeaux in France or also in the so-called “New World”, such as the Napa Valley in the United States, Mendoza in Argentina and many others around the world, demonstrate a new age where the wine tourism is essential for affecting their economies and leaving a mark in the contemporary society, in which architecture plays a major role to achieve these goals. In Brazil, an emerging country in wine production, the Valley of the Vineyards is one of the most traditional areas of production and it has been through major changes over the past decades. The countless vineyards, wine cellars, tourist establishments and the growing urbanization are redefining the landscape of the region. Using bibliographic revision to explore different perspectives on the theme, this article aims at highlighting the social, cultural and technical implications related to this kind of tourism. Moreover, both positive and negative effects reflect the identity and the characteristics of each area, along with cultural and architectural elements that are disposed in each wine cellar, time and place.

Secondary Rural Settlements in Eastern Serbia: A Closer Look at Seasonal Pasture Farms Near Štubik

Two types of secondary settlements still survive around the village of Štubik in Eastern Serbia: a wine cellar compound (Štubičke pivnice), and clusters of seasonal pasture farms (salaši). While the wine cellars of this area have been extensively researched, there is comparatively little data on the seasonal pasture farms. Architectural literature on secondary settlements for animal husbandry in Serbia typically focuses on the simplest surviving structures, as they are often the only existing examples of the most basic vernacular forms. This paper presents new findings on the size and varied spatial organisation of developed dwellings and barns in seasonal pasture farms in Eastern Serbia dating to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These farms were used mostly for sheep rearing. The following detailed account of the structures recorded in 2015 provides the basis for a more nuanced understanding of the historical development of seasonal pasture farms in this region.

Enzymes and wine: The enhanced quality and yield

Enzymes are a natural and fundamental element of the winemaking process. These enzymes originate from the grape, yeasts and other microbes associated with vineyards and wine cellars. Grape enzymes are however inactive under the pH and SO2 conditions associated with winemaking. Fungal pectinases are resistant to these winemaking conditions. The method used to produce wine enzymes for use in the EU is regulated by the Office International de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV). Nowadays, they are also a commercial product found in many wineries. The most widely used enzymes available for commercial use are: pectinases, hemicellulases, glycosidases and glucanases. From the pre-fermentation stage, through fermentation, post-fermentation and aging, enzymes catalyze various biotransformation reactions. In the past years, enzymes have been increasingly used for enhancing the quality of wines. They have the potential to make more extracted and more aromatic wines and to accelerate the winemaking process. This review summarizes the most important types of commercial enzymes applied to winemaking and their effects on the process technology and the quality of the final product.

Characterization of Cavities Using the GPR, LIDAR and GNSS Techniques

The study of the many types of natural and manmade cavities in different parts of the world is important to the fields of geology, geophysics, engineering, architectures, agriculture, heritages and landscape. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a noninvasive geodetection and geolocation technique suitable for accurately determining buried structures. This technique requires knowing the propagation velocity of electromagnetic waves (EM velocity) in the medium. We propose a method for calibrating the EM velocity using the integration of laser imaging detection and ranging (LIDAR) and GPR techniques using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) as support for geolocation. Once the EM velocity is known and the GPR profiles have been properly processed and migrated, they will also show the hidden cavities and the old hidden structures from the cellar. In this article, we present a complete study of the joint use of the GPR, LIDAR and GNSS techniques in the characterization of cavities. We apply this methodology to study underground cavities in a group of wine cellars located in Atauta (Soria, Spain). The results serve to identify construction elements that form the cavity and group of cavities or cellars. The described methodology could be applied to other shallow underground structures with surface connection, where LIDAR and GPR profiles could be joined, as, for example, in archaeological cavities, sewerage systems, drainpipes, etc.

Influence of Winery Age and Design on the Distribution of Airborne Molds in Three Rioja Wine Cellars

The presence of molds in the winery is of concern for winemakers, as molds can be responsible for ochratoxin A and cork taint in wines. The presence of airborne molds was analyzed in four different areas (cask, vinification, bottle cellar, and bottling line) in three Rioja appellation wineries with different characteristics of design, output capacity, and age. Samples were taken four times during the year (winter, spring, summer, and fall). Winery design was a determinant factor in the levels of relative humidity and temperature, which determined the total counts of airborne molds. However, design did not influence the distribution of the main types of molds (Penicillium and Cladosporium) found in the different areas studied. The activity conducted in each part of the winery, mainly when grapes were delivered and when auxiliary materials were handled, affected the total number of airborne molds present at specific times. Hence, a relationship could be established between the activity in the winery and the diversity index. The diversity index was much higher in the older wineries than in the most recently constructed winery. Results indicate the variables that need to be considered in order to control levels of airborne molds in wineries, including the design needed to allow the establishment of an effective system for controlling temperature and relative humidity.

Characterizing a Middle Bronze palatial wine cellar from Tel Kabri, Israel.

Scholars have for generations recognized the importance of wine production, distribution, and consumption in relation to second millennium BC palatial complexes in the Mediterranean and Near East. However, direct archaeological evidence has rarely been offered, despite the prominence of ancient viticulture in administrative clay tablets, visual media, and various forms of documentation. Tartaric and syringic acids, along with evidence for resination, have been identified in ancient ceramics, but until now the archaeological contexts behind these sporadic discoveries had been uneven and vague, precluding definitive conclusions about the nature of ancient viticulture. The situation has now changed. During the 2013 excavation season of the Kabri Archaeological Project, a rare opportunity materialized when forty large storage vessels were found in situ in an enclosed room located to the west of the central courtyard within the Middle Bronze Age Canaanite palace. A comprehensive program of organic residue analysis has now revealed that all of the relatively uniform jars contain evidence for wine. Furthermore, the enclosed context inherent to a singular intact wine cellar presented an unprecedented opportunity for a scientifically intensive study, allowing for the detection of subtle differences in the ingredients or additives within similar wine jars of apparently the same vintage. Additives seem to have included honey, storax resin, terebinth resin, cedar oil, cyperus, juniper, and perhaps even mint, myrtle, or cinnamon, all or most of which are attested in the 18th century BC Mari texts from Mesopotamia and the 15th century BC Ebers Papyrus from Egypt. These additives suggest a sophisticated understanding of the botanical landscape and the pharmacopeic skills necessary to produce a complex beverage that balanced preservation, palatability, and psychoactivity. This new study has resulted in insights unachievable in the past, which contribute to a greater understanding not only of ancient viticulture but also of Canaanite palatial economy.

Assessment of underground wine cellars using geographic information technologies

Geographic information technologies (GIT) are essential to many fields of research, such as the preservation and dissemination of knowledge of cultural heritage buildings, a category which includes traditional underground wine cellars. This paper presents a methodology based on research carried out on this type of rural heritage building. The data were acquired using the following sensors: EDM, total station, close range photogrammetry and laser scanning, and subsequently processed with a specific software which was verified for each case, in order to obtain a satisfactory graphic representation of these underground wine cellars. Two key aspects of this work are the accuracy of the data processing and the visualisation of these traditional constructions. The methodology includes an application for geovisualising these traditional constructions on mobile devices in order to contribute to raising awareness of this unique heritage.

Experimental analysis of shallow underground temperature for the assessment of energy efficiency potential of underground wine cellars

Energy saving in production processes is a topical issue in wine sector, where energy demand is mostly due to temperature control. Thus constructive solutions and technological systems that maximize energy efficiency are requested by companies and stakeholders. Underground cellars may represent a solution, as they can provide temperature peaks dampening, thermal wave phase shifting and temperature variation breaking down. The effects depend on building and site features; therefore the knowledge of underground thermal properties and space-time variability of thermal phenomena are fundamental for building design.The objective of the study is to identify time variations of temperature distributions related to ground layers interacting with underground buildings in the wine sector. A monitoring system was implemented and experimental analyses were carried out on two boreholes at different distances from a real underground cellar.Results showed to what extent building design can take advantage of underground thermal properties to minimize energy demand for temperature control. The validity of the standard model of underground temperature distribution was verified for the shallow zone and a procedure was proposed and validated for the assessment of thermal diffusivity. The research represents also a basis for theoretical provisional model definition for surface zones.

Geomatics and Geophysics Synergies to Evaluate Underground Wine Cellars

This article presents a multidisciplinary study to evaluate the internal and external state of underground wine cellars. In particular, five historical subterranean wine cellars that present a complex structure and whose underground three-dimensional (3D) shape and their connections with the external surface are unknown. They are recorded and analyzed with non-invasive techniques. An approach that integrates surveying geotechnologies (terrestrial laser scanner, global positioning system) with geophysical prospecting equipment (ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography), was used in order to plan architectural restoration actions. The combination of both sets of techniques implies an improvement in the information gathered compared with they are applied separately, facilitating the interpretation of geophysical data to generate accurate geometric geophysical profiles and highlighting the evaluation of the state of this type of architectonic heritage.

Wine cathedrals: making the most of masonry

The ‘wine cathedrals’ were wine cellars built for agricultural cooperatives in southern Catalonia in the early twentieth century. They were developed by Cesar Martinell (1888–1973). As the cooperatives could not afford to build with steel or concrete, he used traditional masonry and drew on the achievements of contemporary modern architects such as Antoni Gaudí, Lluis Domènech and Josep Puig. Martinell took advantage of the constructive and architectural possibilities of brick by using it not only for walls and pillars but also to replace main beams, joist beams, floor slabs and roofs. This gave rise to a type of building in which the constructive system becomes the architectural form and satisfies the technical and functional requirements. Some of the resources used by Martinell are still valid in low-cost and sustainable construction today when labour and local resources are more readily available than energy and imported products.

Antimicrobial activity of ozone. Effectiveness against the main wine spoilage microorganisms and evaluation of impact on simple phenols in wine

Background and Aims: Microbial contamination affects winemaking, especially after fermentation, e.g. wine ageing in barrels or in contact with oak pieces, when spoilage microbes find an environment favourable for their development. Ozone was evaluated as a sanitising agent in order to assess its potential to prevent microbial spoilage occurring during ageing of wine in barrels using a model system based on barrel wood. Methods and Results: Fifty microorganisms of oenological significance were evaluated for their spoilage potential in the barrel. Ethanol resistance, biofilm formation and production of volatile phenols were studied using physiological tests. The effectiveness of ozone in eliminating microorganisms was evaluated in aqueous solution at several cell and ozone concentrations. At a high cell concentration, the presence of organic matter reduced the effectiveness of ozone. At a cell concentration of under 103 CFU/mL, typical of wine cellars, ozone was able to eliminate microorganisms. Resistance to ozone was observed in diverse microorganisms, and this feature is linked to their ability to produce a biofilm. The reduction in simple phenols obtained from oak wood was tested by treating oak chips, routinely used in the wine industry, with an increasing dose of ozone. There was no statistical difference in the phenolic composition of wine treated with six commercial chips. Only a significant exposure of the chips to ozone caused a 33%reduction in the initial content of gentisic acid. Conclusions: Ozone was shown to be a highly effective sanitising agent without interfering with the profile of the phenolic substances extracted from oak. The application of ozone for barrel sanitising may be a feasible solution for the prevention of wine spoilage during ageing in oak barrels. Significance of the Study: A survey of the effect of ozone on a large number of microorganisms and phenolic compounds of oenological significance, considering some technological variables, is reported.

Arte e vinho

O vinho faz parte da cultura desde os primeiros registros históricos. Está associadoà mitologia, firmando o estilo devida mediterrâneo. No período medieval,os mosteiros europeus contribuem paraa qualidade do vinho, aprimorando técnicas,organizações de adegas e retornoseconômicos. No século XVI, quando oseuropeus se aventuram no Novo Mundo,sua religião e seus vinhos viajam comeles... (bebida mais limpa e segura doque a água, o vinho torna-se parte darotina, tanto para matar a sede quantocomo importante elemento da tradição).Nesse momento, o mundo do vinho tomaa forma que se conhece hoje (são aperfeiçoadastécnicas: cultivo, fabricação,transporte e comercialização). Além dosefeitos relaxantes do álcool, o vinho continua fascinando, vinculado às culturas, às celebrações e aos diversos povos.

Anton Schmidt (1786-1863), constructorul uitat al Timisoarei moderne / Anton Schmidt (1786-1863), the long-forgotten builder of modern Timisoara

Anton Schmidt (1786-1863), constructorul uitat al Timisoarei moderne / Anton Schmidt (1786-1863), the long-forgotten builder of modern Timisoara

Investigating the coffee flavour in South African Pinotage wine using novel offline olfactometry and comprehensive gas chromatography with time of flight mass spectrometry

Pinotage wine from several South African wine cellars has been produced with a novel coffee flavour. We have investigated this innovative coffee effect using in house developed solventless sampling and fractionating olfactometric techniques, which are unique in their ability to study synergistic aroma effects as opposed to traditional gas chromatography olfactometry (GC-O) which is designed to, ideally, evaluate single eluting compounds in a chromatographic sequence. Sections of the chromatogram, multiple or single peaks, were recaptured on multichannel open tubular silicone rubber (polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)) traps at the end of a GC column. The recaptured fractions were released in a controlled manner for offline olfactory evaluation, and for qualitative analysis using comprehensive gas chromatography coupled to time of flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOFMS) for compound separation and identification, thus permitting correlation of odour with specific compounds. A combination of furfural and 2-furanmethanol was responsible for a roast coffee bean-like odour in coffee style Pinotage wines. This coffee perception is the result of a synergistic effect in which no individual compound was responsible for the characteristic aroma.

Wine cellars built underground: soil properties in the “Ribera del Duero” (Spain)

The ground properties have a decisive effect on the interior conditions, as well as the integrity and durability of the underground wine cellars. The main objective of this paper is to determine the characteristics of the soils where these underground wine cellars have been dug. The results show that most of the soils present very similar plasticity and swelling properties. They are either concentrated in a very specific region of the plasticity chart or present zero plasticity. High-plasticity soils are uncommon, owing to the higher risk of swelling leading to stability problems in the wine cellars. In terms of grain size, silts and sands under 0.4 mm predominate, with a somewhat lower presence of clays. No wine cellars were found that had been dug in earth with very high plasticity or where gravels or clean sands predominate. We recommend that any new wine cellars should be excavated in earth with similar characteristics.

Floral, spicy and herbaceous active odorants in Gran Negro grapes from shoulders and tips into the cluster, and comparison with Brancellao and Mouratón varieties

Within the framework of a more and more competitive market, the opportunity to obtain different wines from the same variety cultivated in the same vineyard is becoming of increasing importance. In this study the presence of aroma compounds in Gran Negro (Vitis vinifera L.) grapes was investigated in order to obtain its aroma potential fingerprint taking into consideration the separation of apical (tips) and basal (shoulders) berries of the clusters. In the final stages of maturation, differences were searched in the probable alcohol content, total acidity of the must, as well as in the aromatic composition of skin and flesh from shoulder and cluster tip berries. A GC–MS method was used to determine the aromatic composition. The obtained results showed that there was variability for their aromatic composition. These results are promising for those wine cellars that are considering the separation of berries from tips and shoulders of the clusters for the elaboration of wines with different qualities. For the berries from the tips of the clusters, aromatic alcohols and volatile phenols were mainly found in the flesh (15 and 2 times higher than in the skin, respectively); whereas aldehydes and C6 alcohols were mainly in the skin (4 and 3 times higher than in the flesh, respectively). For this reason, it could be recommended to separate berry skin before enzymatic maceration of the berry flesh must. For the berries from the shoulders of the clusters, the group of volatile phenols showed 2 times more concentration in the skin than in the flesh; it could be recommended to maintain berry skin during enzymatic maceration of the must. Overall, the tips showed a 40% lower level of C6 alcohols (contributing to herbaceous nuances). These results from Gran Negro were compared with those of Brancellao and Mouratón cultivars.

Active odorants in Mouratón grapes from shoulders and tips into the bunch

Abstract The opportunity for obtaining different wines from the same variety cultivated in the same vineyard is becoming of increasing importance. This is why some wine cellars have started to assay the separation of the tips and shoulders berries of the clusters of a specific variety with this objective. In this work, the study is focused on berries of Mouraton ( Vitis vinifera L.) to investigate if, in the latter stages of ripening, differences exist in the probable alcoholic degree, total acidity of the must, as well as in the aromatic composition of skin and flesh of berries coming from the tips and shoulders of the clusters. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to determine the aromatic composition. The obtained results showed that there was not variability for the probable alcoholic degree and total acidity between the tips and shoulders, whereas there was variability for their aromatic composition during ripening. These results are promising for those wine cellars that are considering the separation of berries from tips and shoulders of the clusters for the elaboration of different quality wines.

Radon in workplaces in Extremadura (Spain)

Indoor radon measurements are usually associated with housing. However, a typical person spends about one-third of the day at their workplace. A survey was made of radon levels in workplaces in Extremadura (Spain). More than 200 measurements were performed in some 130 firms and organizations of different sectors (urban wellness centres, spas, caves, mines, water management facilities, underground carparks, wine cellars, museums, etc.). Activated charcoal canisters and track detectors were used for sampling. The results indicated the importance of performing this type of measurement because the exposure of workers can reach high values in some cases.