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Difficult to Ferment Juices: Strategies for Fermentation management. Linda F. Bisson Department of Viticulture and Enology, UCD. Types of Difficult to Ferment Juices. High Brix High Rot/High Bioload Vineyard Site Issues Varietal/Rootstock Issues. High Brix (Long Hang Time).
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Difficult to Ferment Juices: Strategies for Fermentation management Linda F. Bisson Department of Viticulture and Enology, UCD
Types of Difficult to Ferment Juices • High Brix • High Rot/High Bioload • Vineyard Site Issues • Varietal/Rootstock Issues
High Brix (Long Hang Time) • High sugar means high ethanol • Increased demand for nutrients with increasing Brix, may be as much as two-fold • Long Hang Time means more juice seepage • Increased potential for inhibitory lactic acid bacteria populations on surface of fruit • Higher pH of juice, greater activity of spoilage microbes in winery • Higher SO2 demand of juice
High Rot • High microbial bioloads in juice • Greater competition for nutrients • Increased production of inhibitory compounds negatively impacting fermentation progression • Higher SO2 demands • Nutrient level and timing of addition critical to assure feeding the right population • Temperature critical to fostering development of right population (too warm favors bacteria, too cold favors spoilage yeast)
Vineyard Site Issues • Poor Soils • Chronically Nutrient Deficient Juices • Nutrient supplementation not always effective • Complex nutrients needed • Presence of fermentation/growth inhibitors from the vine • High Disease/Pest Pressure • Poor fruit nutrient content • Presence of fermentation/growth inhibitors from the vine
Variety/Rootstock Issues • Variation in fermentation progression as a function of rootstock • Often a soil composition component • More severe with some varietals/clones than others
First Study Nitrogen Status and Fermentation Dynamics for Merlot on Two Rootstocks Christine M. Stockert, Linda F. Bisson, Douglas O. Adams and David R. Smart 2013.AJEV
Outline of Study • Compare impact of N fertilization at two seasonal time points: fall and spring on two rootstocks, 101-14Mgt and 1103P • Merlot clone 1 used as scion • Assessed leaf %N and fruit amino nitrogen composition • Monitored fermentation dynamics
Questions to be addressed: • Is Leaf %N correlated with amino acid composition of grapes? • Can Leaf %N predict fermentation performance? • Do rootstocks differ in uptake and utilization of N with respect to berry composition?
Details of Merlot Trial • Experiment was carried out in the UCD vineyard in Oakville, California • The vines were in their tenth year and trained as bilateral cordons with vertical shoot positioning (VSP) • The trellis height was 1.6 m and the canopy was hedged to 2.2 m. • The rows were oriented SE to NW and spaced 2.4 x 2.2 m between and within rows respectively • Vines on 1103P were established and managed with 28 nodes while those on 101-14 Mgt were established and managed with 24 nodes • A randomized complete block design with six blocks was used. Each block consisted of subplots of six vines per rootstock x treatment combination
Details of Experimental Design • The Spring fertilized treatment was 16.8 kg N/ha applied on 18 May 2005 and the Fall fertilized treatment was 16.8 kg N/ha applied on 7 October 2004 using potassium nitrate (36.94% K, 13.75% N) applied through the drip line • The vines were deficit irrigated bi-weekly with 40% replacement of crop ETc, which totaled 60 mm over the course of the summer. • Irrigation water and fertigation solution were delivered via one 3.8 L/hr drip emitter per vine, located 50 cm from each trunk.
Results • Leaf N levels similar for both rootstocks • 101-14 Mgt had fewer leaves, less total canopy nitrogen • Leaf number but not nitrogen level per leaf associated with nutrient deficiency caused by rootstock
Questions to be addressed: • Is Leaf %N correlated with amino acid composition of grapes? NO • Can Leaf %N predict fermentation performance? NO • Do rootstocks differ in uptake and utilization of N with respect to berry composition? YES
Conclusions • Grape/Juice N varies by rootstock • Nitrogen additions in vineyard might not impact juice YAN as much as thought • Yeast YAN not predictable from Vineyard N assessments, although there is often a trend • Sluggish juices are characterized by low YAN/YNAN and high Proline/Arginine ratios
Second Study Difficult to Ferment Coastal Chardonnay Juices Priyanka Dhar, Aline Cresswell, Vidhya Ramakrishnan, Gordon Walker
The Issues: • Vineyard blocks characterized by low vine N • Vine N less responsive to N application than other blocks in vineyard • Chronic issues with fermentation progression • Yeast fermentation does not respond to yeast nutrient addition
Fermentation Results • Easy to ferment juices generally finished in 8 days at fermentation temperatures of 60° F • UV43 in Napa juice took 12 days • In difficult to ferment juice, strains took 14-18 days to complete fermentation
Conclusions from Chardonnay Study • Difficult to ferment Chardonnay juices also show low YAN/YNAN ratios and high Proline/Arginine ratios • Nutrient supplementation does not affect rate of fermentation of difficult to ferment juices • Also a rootstock effect? Difficult to ferment Chardonnay is Clone 5 on 5C
Overall Conclusions • Difficult to ferment juices are challenging to yeasts regardless of innate nutritional requirements • Difficult to ferment juices do not respond to typical yeast nutrient additions in winery • Although low in N, it is not clear low N is the reason difficult to ferment juices are so difficult to ferment • Correction of problem in vineyard may be challenging as it requires high N applications
Cause of Difficulty in Fermentation? • Not chloride or other inhibitory ion • Does not respond to ammonium addition • Metabolome analysis: yeast have high concentrations of stress-associated metabolites, especially mannitol • Not associated with wild lactic activity • Oxidative stressors? • Inhibitory phenolics/plant metabolites?
Acknowledgements Funding • American Vineyard Foundation • USDA Viticulture Consortium • California Grant Program for Research in Viticulture and Enology • Maynard A. Amerine Chair Endowment • VEN Department Scholarships