Effects of Extended Grape Ripening With or Without Must and Wine Alcohol Manipulations on Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Sensory Characteristics

This study attempts to clarify the consequences for wine flavour that result from harvesting fruit atdifferent maturities. The grapes were harvested from a single vineyard in Paso Robles, and the samplesspanned maturity levels from what would be considered early harvest (about 21 °Brix) to late harvest(about 30 °Brix). The wines made from these grapes were analysed using descriptive analysis to investigatethe relationships between fruit maturity and wine sensory attributes. In addition, musts and/or wines werechaptalised and/or fortified or watered back to determine the effect of these manipulations on wine sensoryproperties. This research showed that the sensory attributes of wines made from grapes at different stagesof maturation, from about 20 to 30 °Brix, varied in a systematic fashion. Specifically, the wines made fromthe grapes with a lower Brix were more sour and had more fresh vegetative flavours, while the wines madefrom the fruit with a high Brix were more hot and bitter and in some cases had more dark fruit flavoursand sweetness. Fortifying wines made from lower Brix musts changed the perceptions of the wine sensoryprofiles more than chaptalising the musts. On the other hand, adding water to higher °Brix musts to mimic24 °Brix musts resulted in wines with similar sensory profiles to wines made from grapes picked at a sugarcontent of close to 24 °Brix. This study shows that wine sensory attributes differ more when grapes arepicked early in ripening rather than after 24 °Brix