Calwineries

Central Coast Viticulture and Enology Conference

On February 22nd and 23rd, Fresno State University hosted the 10th Annual Viticulture and Enology Conference with a focus on color in grapes and color and wine. A wide array of winemakers and researchers spoke on color development and color management in grape growing and winemaking.

As reported by Wine Business, “the lectures focused on plant hormones and their relationship to grape color; color-extracting enzyme technology; enotannins and color; yeast, polysaccharides and polyphenols; cultural practices that influence color; near infrared spectroscopy and differential harvesting; and packaging and labeling.”

Sanliang Gu spoke about the effect that ABA (S-abscisic acid) has on anthocyanins (the compounds that give red grapes their color) when applied to grapes in the vineyard. Gu is the Ricchiuti Chair of Viticulture Research at Fresno State University. According to Gu, ABA sprayed onto Cabernet Sauvignon berries increased anthocyanins by “up to 40 percent.”

Francois Botton, a scholar at Martin Vialatte Oenologie in Epernay, France, focused his talk on how different tannins can affect anthocyanins depending on their origin. Botton found that certain tannins increase anthocyanins more than others, and revealed his specific research to the conference.