Grape Quality

Optimizing the Quality of Grape Cultivars

By: Paul Gospodarczyk Des Moines Area Community College ptgospodarczyk@dmacc.edu paul@todayswineprofessional.com

What is Quality?
Nobody knows! Easy to define what quality is NOT Hard to define what it IS Grapes are at the highest potential qualitywinemakers maintain or detract from that potential

Most important factor:

How does the wine TASTE?

Nothing else matters.

ECON 101
Supply vs. Demand
Supply

Demand

ECON 101
Commodity Market
Supply

Demand

ECON 101
Specialty Market
Supply

Demand

Communication: -Its up to you! -Push the winemaker

Goals Today
Investigate attributes worth talking about Understand the importance of these attributes

Some basics

Grape Ripening
Amount

Acid

Sugar

Time

Grape Ripening
Amount

Acid

Sugar

Time

Grape Ripening
Amount

Acid

Sugar

Time

Ripeness Effects
Flavor Acid
pH TA

Color
Hue Intensity

Ripening and Flavor

Amount

Acid

Flavor change!

Sugar

Time

Acid Expression
Paradox of acid expression:
Titratable acidity: grams per Liter pH: inverse logarithmic representation of the hydrogen proton concentration

Acid Expression

TA vs pH

Ripening and Hue

Low pH, 20-25%

Flavylium State

High pH, 10%

Quinoidal State

Most Anthocyanins colorless at wine pH

Ripening and Color Intensity

Rim Variation

I wanted to see this in a lab

Wine A: High Color Intensity

Wine B: Low Color Intensity

 Wine A; Hue = .6; Intensity = 3

Ripening and Color Intensity

Wine B; Hue = .9; Intensity = 1.8

White Wine Tasting:

Investigating Effect of TA
Dont finish the samples!

Monitoring Fruit
Its a sample! Striving for even ripening:
Dormant season pruning Shoot positioning Green harvest

Hungry?

Want to use this plate?

Sanitation vs. Sterilization

Sulfur Citric Sanitation

Requires:
200 ppm Sulfur; 2-3 tablespoons < 3.0 pH; couple scoops

Buying Potassium Metabisulfite Efficacy

Hungry?

Sulfur Dioxide Additions

Inhibits enzymatic oxidation
Polyphenoloxidase Laccase

Sulfur Dioxide Additions

Calculating sulfur dioxide
Based on JUICE YIELD Average 150 gallons juice/ton Clean Fruit 30 ppm = 30 grams (1.06 oz.) Rotten Fruit 75 ppm = 74 grams (2.65 oz.)

Hungry?

Lady Bugs
Green, peas, peanuts, gross mushrooms Identification threshold is at PPT
1 trillion seconds = 31,546 years

Spray Records

Cellar Handling
Chaptalization
$.75/pound C&H $9.39/T ($.06/gal.) to raise 1 Brix

Amelioration

Red Wine Tasting:

Investigating Effect of TA
Dont finish the samples!

Correlation
Comparison of 2 independent data sets R value explains variability
Low r = no relationship High r = possible relationship (r > 85%) R = .65 means 65% of variability is accounted for

CAUSATION is not implied

Shark Attacks

Correlation
R = .24 R squared = .0576

Ice Cream Sales

Shark Attacks

Correlation
R = .89 R squared = .79

Not Causal!

Ice Cream Sales

Searching for a correlation

A model to predict quality wines

Frontenac Project
11 Iowa Frontenac wines Chemical analysis performed in triplicate Sensory data from 3 panelists
Majority of panelists had completed VIN 150 sensory training Assigned No medal, Bronze, Silver, and Gold

Frontenac Project
R = 66.5%
Percentage

R = 60.6%

Frontenac Project

Frontenac Project

Frontenac Project

r = 68.3% r = 60 % r = 47%
r = 63.5% r = 58.5%

Frontenac Project

Descriptor Frequency

r = 78.8%

Intensity Rating

Red Wine Tasting:

Investigating Effect of TA on Tannin Perception

Obviously, quality indicators of wine will be multivariate

Suppleness Index
Suppleness aka richness Relationship of alcohol, tannin, and acid Review:
Alcohol measured in percent Acid measured in grams/liter
In France its calculated as Sulfuric Acid and not Tartaric Acid

Tannin measured in g/L

Suppleness Index
Alcohol (Acid + Tannin) = Suppleness

Suppleness Index
The equation: ETOH% - (T.A. + Tannin) = Suppleness

> 5 = supple wine

Suppleness Index
Cabernet examples: Wine 1: 12% Alc - (3.6 TA + 1.8 Tannin) = 6.6 Supple Wine 2: 10.5% Alc (4.2 TA + 2.4 Tannin) = 3.9 Not Supple

Suppleness Index
Frontenac examples: Sample 743: 12.73%(7.45 TA + .5 Tannin) = 5.78 Sample 291: 11.5% (6.6 TA + .5 Tannin) = 4.4 Sample 238: 11.9% (16.2 TA + .5 Tannin) = -4.8

Correlation: Suppleness and Numeric Award: r = .52; 52% of variability accounted for

Amelioration?!

FrontenacOrdered by Suppleness
Sample Supple (.5 tan.) 743 5.78 272 5.67 291 5.40 787 5.03 662 4.97 588 4.78 781 4.77 374 4.40 453 4.20 61 1.83 238 -3.82 Award Award Num. Gold 7.11 Silver 5.26 Silver 5.18 Silver 4.58 Silver 5.26 Silver 5.38 No Medal 1.93 Silver 4.93 Gold 6.83 Bronze 3.03 No Medal 2.86

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

No BB B+ SS S+ G

Suppleness: Key Lessons

Acid reinforces bitter/astringent flavors High acid and high tannin are not good High alcohol and low acid required for elevated tannin levels

Suppleness in Perspective:
Developed by Peynaud and Gayon Bordeaux wine production in the 50s and 60s High suppleness = riper fruit

Who is Hungry?
because lunch is in 15 minutes!
Paul Gospodarczyk Des Moines Area Community College ptgospodarczyk@dmacc.edu paul@todayswineprofessional.com