Articles
EFFECT OF TERROIR ON ANTHOCYANINS OF VITIS VINIFERA L. ‘CABERNET SAUVIGNON’ AND ‘CABERNET FRANC’ GROWN IN DIFFERENT NIAGARA APPELLATIONS
Article number
827_49
Pages
287 – 294
Language
English
Abstract
Wines produced from the same cultivar often show great variation in quality, despite genetic homogeneity imposed through clonal propagation of the varieties and increasingly standardized agricultural and viticultural methods. Terroir, the interaction between the vine and the land, based upon an individual vineyards unique location, has long been used to explain these differences in wine quality.
Appellations, a system whereby vineyards sharing similar mesoclimates are clustered together for marketing purposes is often viewed as an extension of Terroir. Previous studies of the effects of Terroir on wine quality have been performed, both internationally and in Ontario, but in these studies, the effects of vine/land interactions are complicated by subsequent variations in enological techniques.
In this study, the effect of Terroir on the anthocyanin profiles and physical/chemical characteristics of mature grape berries was examined prior to the winemaking step, in order to reduce the complexities created by vinification.
ANOVA comparisons between individual vineyards support the existence of significant differences in anthocyanin profiles among sites, but when sites are clustered by geographic appellation these trends mostly disappear.
While Terroir may be responsible for these differences seen on the individual vineyard scale, extrapolation of Terroir up to the appellation level within the Niagara Peninsula may not be warranted. Cabernet Franc showed a greater variation across sites than Cabernet Sauvignon, suggesting the strength of Terroir effects differs for the two cultivars examined. 2005, a very hot and dry year produced greater variation in anthocyanin profiles than 2004, a mild, wet year, indicating Terroir may be most pronounced under stressful growing conditions.
Appellations, a system whereby vineyards sharing similar mesoclimates are clustered together for marketing purposes is often viewed as an extension of Terroir. Previous studies of the effects of Terroir on wine quality have been performed, both internationally and in Ontario, but in these studies, the effects of vine/land interactions are complicated by subsequent variations in enological techniques.
In this study, the effect of Terroir on the anthocyanin profiles and physical/chemical characteristics of mature grape berries was examined prior to the winemaking step, in order to reduce the complexities created by vinification.
ANOVA comparisons between individual vineyards support the existence of significant differences in anthocyanin profiles among sites, but when sites are clustered by geographic appellation these trends mostly disappear.
While Terroir may be responsible for these differences seen on the individual vineyard scale, extrapolation of Terroir up to the appellation level within the Niagara Peninsula may not be warranted. Cabernet Franc showed a greater variation across sites than Cabernet Sauvignon, suggesting the strength of Terroir effects differs for the two cultivars examined. 2005, a very hot and dry year produced greater variation in anthocyanin profiles than 2004, a mild, wet year, indicating Terroir may be most pronounced under stressful growing conditions.
Authors
J.L. McCallum, H. Fisher, J.N. Strommer, R. Tsao
Keywords
Vitis vinifera, anthocyanin profiles, flavonoids, Niagara Peninsula, Bordeaux reds
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