Thiol-releasing and low VA-forming hybrid wine yeasts
During alcoholic fermentation of grape must, the metabolic activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae leads to a range of compounds, some of which enhance tropical fruit aroma, e.g. volatile thiols. Introduction Two thiols in particular, namely 3-mercaptohexanol...
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Management and re-use of treated winery wastewater (Part 2): Dairy and municipal wastewaters in New Zealand
Carolyn went to New Zealand to participate in a technical tour focussing on the management and re-use of treated winery wastewater, with particular reference to wine grape irrigation. This article focuses on the visits to industries other than wineries to see how they...
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TerraClim – online terrain and climate spatial decision support systems
Assess your environment and tell your story using maps in TerraClim. The TerraClim platform is an integrated resource database with a user-friendly interface, where users can obtain pertinent information about climate, terrain and soils to aid long- and short-term...
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The use of whisky barrels for wine maturation
Wooden barrels in different forms and sizes are used for a variety of beverages like wine, beer, brandy, Cognac and whisk(e)y. It is also used for food like pickled products and balsamic vinegar. Depending on the nature and composition of the products, the influence...
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Management and re-use of treated winery wastewater (Part 1): New Zealand wineries
Carolyn went to New Zealand to participate in a technical tour focussing on the management and re-use of treated winery wastewater, with particular reference to wine grape irrigation. She reports … The Western Cape is experiencing one of its worst droughts to date....
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Vinpro Production Plan survey: The 2018 vintage
A watershed year for the South African wine industry? In 2018 the Vinpro Production Plan survey was conducted for the 15th consecutive year in the wine industry. The findings show that although the average producer are still not on sustainable income levels, the...
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The role of leaf and soil analyses in vineyard management (Part 1)
Is it worth the effort for producers to take regular soil and leaf samples, or does this only generate more data without adding real value? Soil and leaf samples both play a distinct role in the vineyard monitoring process. The way in which they also complement each...
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Rapid and cost-effective quantification of YAN concentration and composition – vintage and cultivar effect
Due to the complexity of the grape juice matrix and the increasing consumer demand for quality wines, monitoring the grape juice composition becomes essential. Yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN), a critical component of the grape juice matrix, is, however, often...
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Post-harvest practices in wine cellars
The harvest is the climax of all winemakers’ lives. Late and some sleepless nights typify this time of the year. Grapes must be monitored, juice prepared for fermentation, yeast cultures prepared and the alcoholic fermentation must be monitored and managed. The birth...
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The positive contribution to transfer of knowledge
South African cellars are increasingly motivated and encouraged to develop the skills and knowledge of cellar assistants. Although this might appear not to be problematic, transfer of knowledge and the development of skills are far more challenging than many in the...
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Amino acids in South African grape musts (Part 2): Cultivar classification
This study aimed to investigate how well cultivars could be predicted based on their amino acid profile, regardless of origin or vintage. The amino acid results obtained from the survey of 738 grape must samples (2016 and 2017 harvests) were presented in Part 1, while...
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A new era for wine grape yield estimation
With technology at the fingertips of researchers and producers alike, the possibility exists to not only generate and study vast data sets, but also to find relationships between them through machine learning and statistical analysis. Such relationships could...
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Winemaking with stems
Alcoholic fermentation is the backbone of winemaking. It therefore follows that all processes, physical factors and components of the process will have an influence on the result of the fermentation. Whether stems are absent or not during fermentation is one of these...
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Accumulation of volatile phenol glycoconjugates in grapes after bushfires
This study demonstrated the different effects of the same amount of smoke on different grape varieties. Introduction It is well-documented that wines made from grapes that were exposed to smoke from bushfires can contain smoky and ashy characteristics.1 These...
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Resolutions adopted by OIV
The 16th General Assembly of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), which met on 23 November 2018 in Punta del Este (Uruguay), adopted a total of 20 resolutions. Decisions on viticulture and the environment • In the field of viticulture, the OIV...
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Amino acids in South African grape musts (Part 1): Composition and profiles
The work presented aimed to elucidate the amino acid profile of a number of grapevine cultivars relevant to the South African wine industry using 738 grape must samples obtained during the 2016 and 2017 harvests. Part 1 presents the findings of the survey, while Part...
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New wine packaging for a changing consumer profile
The demographic age profile of consumers of different generations is divided according to their birth dates. Consumers born since World War Two are classified as “Baby Boomers” (middle 1940s to middle 1960s), “Generation X” (middle 1960s to early 1980s), “Generation...
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Detection and classification of grapevine stem pitting-associated virus
The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of GRSPaV in South Africa and to evaluate the success of biological indexing as a detection tool for this virus. Grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus (GRSPaV) is a ubiquitous grapevine virus...
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