To determine a correlation between carotenoid precursors in grapes and norisoprenoid varietal aroma of wine, carotenoids were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD-MS (ESI+) from four representative wine grape varieties of the Apulian region (Chardonnay, Merlot, Negroamaro, Primitivo) in two years of study (2006-2007), and C13-norisoprenoid aroma potential, DeltaC (microg/kg), was calculated from the difference of total carotenoid concentration between veraison and maturity. C13-norisoprenoids were analyzed by GC-MS in the obtained wines from 2006 and 2007 vintages. Higher DeltaC values, found in Chardonnay and Merlot grapes, corresponded to higher norisoprenoid contents in the respective wines, particularly characterized by highly flavorant compounds such as beta-damascenone and 3-oxo-alpha-ionol. A linear regression was determined that was significant at the 0.01% level (F=36.12, p=0.00096) with R=0.9261, between grape DeltaC values and total norisoprenoid contents in wine. These findings support the hypothesis that DeltaC could be a useful technological tool to predict norisoprenoid aroma of wine and, consequently, to identify grapes with higher aroma potential.

Negroamaro is an autochthonous wine grape variety of Southern Italy, which is becoming very important for the Italian wine market. The wine aroma is primary affected by the chemical composition of grapes, which can be influenced also by agronomic practices such as soil management. In this study, the free and bound aroma characterization was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses, and the influence of two soil managements (cover cropping and soil tillage) was evaluated. A total of 40 volatile compounds were observed in the wine samples. Alcohols (55.7 mg/L), fatty acids (7.0 mg/L) and esters (6.6 mg/L) were found as the main classes in Negroamaro wine. The results showed that the aroma composition of Negroamaro wine was positively affected by soil tillage probably because of the higher water stress (ψ(s)) recorded in the vines from this treatment. Indeed, among the free volatile compounds, higher contents of esters, carboxylic acids, alcohols, phenolics and acetamides together with lower contents of sulfurs compounds were found in soil tillage wine. Conversely, no difference was observed in glycoside volatile compounds.

Grapes are economically the most important fruit species in the world and approximately 30% of its production is used as fresh fruit. Because of the very important role of flavonoids in food quality as well as their health-promoting properties, and considering that our experiments were performed along 3 consecutive years, gathered results in this research are quite promising to give a useful information on the flavonoid contents and their evolution in 5 seedless table grapes that are widespread in Mediterranean regions but also in California and South America, and are grown in a viticultural climate (Apulia, South Italy) very close to some regions of Spain, Turkey, Tunisia, and Israel.

Summary The aim of this study was to assess the impact of some viticultural practices (VP) and winemaking technologies (WT) on phenolic composition and sensory characteristics of Negroamaro wines produced in Apulia, Southern Italy. Among VP, two soil management (cover crop and soil tillage) and two training systems (bilateral cordon and unilateral cordon) were compared, whereas among WT, three vinifications were tested: control (traditional, 7 days of maceration at 25 °C with two daily punching‐down), cryomaceration (24 h at 0 °C using dry ice) and ultrasound (37 kHz, 150 W, 15 min at 30 °C). Results showed that cover cropping decreased the concentration of flavonoids, whereas bilateral cordon training led to an increase of flavonoids and total polyphenols. Among technologies applied, the cryomaceration led to enrichment in anthocyanins and to impoverishment in total polyphenols, whereas ultrasound treatment improved the extraction of all phenol classes. Cryomacerated wines from the combination soil tillage and unilateral cordon were characterised by the best olfactory and gustatory sensory characteristics. Cryomaceration increased the notes of soft fruits and liquorice, whereas ultrasonic treatment did increase descriptors of violet, soft fruits and black pepper.

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of different winemaking technologies on the chemical characteristics and, in particular, on the phenolic fraction of Aglianico, Montepulciano, Nero di Troia and Sangiovese wines produced in Apulia, Southern Italy. Four different winemaking technologies were compared: control (traditional, 5 days of maceration at 25°C with three daily punching-down), prolonged maceration (10 days), addition of ellagic tannins, and cryomaceration (24 h at 5°C using dry ice), without any other oenological treatment. Results showed that the different technologies slightly influenced the phenolic fraction of Aglianico, which is known to be naturally rich of phenols. On the contrary, the prolonged maceration led to an increase of total phenols (TP) in Nero di Troia (2592 mg/kg versus 2115 mg/kg of control) and a decrease in Sangiovese (869 mg/kg versus 1013 mg/kg); the addition of tannins led to an increase of TP in Montepulciano (1358 mg/kg versus 1216 mg/kg) and to a decrease in Sangiovese (916 mg/kg versus 1013 mg/kg); cryomaceration led to a decrease of anthocyans in all cultivars (about 15%). Phenols extraction from grapes was found to be mostly dependent on the grape variety rather than on the applied winemaking technology