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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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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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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Chitin, chitinase, chitosan …
In the past 10 years various studies were published that highlighted these three entities and their roles in winemaking. It is therefore worthwhile to take a closer look at what they are, what they do and why winemakers should be excited. What they are Chitin...
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Red Dawn: extracting nature’s power
This local breakthrough tannin innovation is a huge potential game changer in the wine industry, given that the locally produced tannins contains unique antioxidants and polyphenols. It not only preserves, protects and enhances all wine, it also has the...
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Gen-Z cover crop demo plots – results and findings from the 2018 season
In 2017 Vinpro launched a new technology transfer project, namely the Gen-Z Vineyard Project. The objective of this project is to establish various types of demo plots, for example new cultivars and clones, rootstocks, trellis systems, pruning systems and viticultural...
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Strategy for the control of mealybug in South African vineyards
Mealybug and scale insects are currently the only proven vectors of leafroll virus. All producers do not have the financial means to remove and replace leafroll infected grapevines. New grapevines from certified virus-free plant material are consequently being...
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Mapping the 2017 Absa Top 10 Pinotage wines – chemistry and sensory perspectives
When evaluating wines, we have two main tools at our disposal: sensory and chemistry. The chemical profile of a wine is made up of a multitude of compounds, but we cannot reduce a wine to a list of substances, no matter how comprehensive. In contrast, sensory...
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Big data and YAN analysis – new developments in South African context
A Big Data approach can be used in winemaking, using our YAN work as illustration. Unlike other fermented beverages, wine’s appeal does not stem from its consistent flavour and aroma, but instead from the unique sensory experience that it can offer, from one vintage...
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Benchmarking of commercial tannins and mannoproteins
Australian researchers did an in depth study of the compositions of 14 commercial grape-derived tannins and eight mannoproteins obtained from five different suppliers in the Australian market.1 They found significant differences in the compositions of these commercial...
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The importance of oxygen control during bottling and the measurement of dissolved oxygen in wine
Bottling is the last stage where oxygen can be dissolved in wine, causing negative quality characteristics, before the wine reaches the consumer. The possibility of oxygen absorption in wine exists during each process of bottling. Seeing that bottling usually takes...
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The advantages and disadvantages of oxygen prior to bottling
“Oxygen can make or break a wine.” – Louis Pasteur. Oxygen is an integral part of life and plays an important role in different biological and chemical reactions. Dissolved oxygen is the free molecular oxygen in solution and is expressed as milligram per litre (mg/L),...
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Water footprint of grapes and wine
During the past season, with many people living in the Western Cape trying to survive with a mere 40 to 50 L of water per person per day, many figures were quoted reminding us just how much water is commonly used in our daily living. For example, that about 19 L of...
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Organic yeast nutrients and Chardonnay aroma
In a recently published study(1) researchers evaluated the effect of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and a commercially available organic yeast nutrient on Chardonnay aroma. The main finding of the study was that the addition of yeast nutrients, compared to no additions in...
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Lessons to be learned from Israel’s desert agriculture*
Netafim South Africa organised a technical tour to Israel for producers and industry role players. The purpose of the tour was to learn more about Israeli agriculture with regard to water management. Background Geography and climate Israel is a Middle Eastern...
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