|
California vineyard uses high-tech chemistry to choose optimum picking time for grapes
September 11, 2006A Modesto winemaker is using the latest 21st century analytical chemistry technology to supplement the time-honored practice of tasting a mouthful of grapes to determine when the fruit is ready for picking.
The winery has turned to spectroscopy and chromatography to evaluate aroma, color, taste and mouthfeel of grapes, according to Michael Cleary, senior manager of grape and wine chemistry at E & J Gallo Winery, who described the firm's Grape Assessment Program at the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Annual California wine production is currently a $16.5 billion industry.
Chromatography is a laboratory process for chemically separating mixtures into their component parts. Using this process, grapes can be analyzed for their molecular makeup. Molecules indicative of aroma, taste and feel to the palate can be identified and the grapes then harvested when these molecules are at their highest concentrations, Cleary explains.
The purpose of using analytical chemistry testing, he says, is to complement historical time-consuming - though still useful - evaluation methods like chewing the grapes to best determine when to pick them. "It takes good grapes to make good wine and we're trying to improve our predictions of when to harvest," he says. The pharmaceutical, petroleum, food and beverage industries, and others also use technologies like chromatography to assess their products, he adds.
Cleary's presentation is one of four papers in a Chemistry of Wine symposium, to be held Sunday afternoon, Sept. 10, and sponsored by the ACS Younger Chemists Committee. The other papers deal with wine flavor chemistry, an overview of the chemistry of winemaking and the world of the winemaking consultant.
American Chemical Society
The purpose of using analytical chemistry testing, he says, is to complement historical time-consuming - though still useful - evaluation methods like chewing the grapes to best determine when to pick them. "It takes good grapes to make good wine and we're trying to improve our predictions of when to harvest," he says. The pharmaceutical, petroleum, food and beverage industries, and others also use technologies like chromatography to assess their products, he adds.
Cleary's presentation is one of four papers in a Chemistry of Wine symposium, to be held Sunday afternoon, Sept. 10, and sponsored by the ACS Younger Chemists Committee. The other papers deal with wine flavor chemistry, an overview of the chemistry of winemaking and the world of the winemaking consultant.
American Chemical Society
Grapes News and Current Grapes Events RSSResearchers identify cancer preventive properties in common vitamin supplement
Early laboratory research has shown that resveratrol, a common dietary supplement, suppresses the abnormal cell formation that leads to most types of breast cancer, suggesting a potential role for the agent in breast cancer prevention.
The benefits of green tea in reducing an important risk factor for heart disease
More evidence for the beneficial effect of green tea on risk factors for heart disease has emerged in a new study reported in the latest issue of European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.
UC Davis research could lead to no scent, no sex for the Japanese beetle
If a male Japanese beetle is unable to detect the sex pheromone released by a female, he won't be able to locate her and reproduce.
Substance in red wine found to keep hearts young
How do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats? Scientists have long suspected that the answer to the so-called "French paradox" lies in red wine. Now, the results of a new study bring them closer to understanding why.
Agent in red wine found to keep hearts young
How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats?
Research suggests parts of UK could be too hot for wine-making by 2080
Increasing summer temperatures could mean some parts of southern England are too hot to grow vines for making wine by 2080, according to a new book launched today (26 May 2008).
Apples, apple juice shown to prevent early atherosclerosis
A new study shows that apples and apple juice are playing the same health league as the often-touted purple grapes and grape juice. The study was published in the April 2008 issue of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
Researcher discovers pathway plants use to fight back against pathogens
Plants are not only smart, but they also wage a good fight, according to a University of Missouri biochemist. Previous studies have shown that plants can sense attacks by pathogens and activate their defenses.
UCR-led research team uses tiny wasp to wipe out major agricultural pest in Tahiti
A research team led by Mark Hoddle, a biological control specialist at UC Riverside, has nearly eradicated the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a major agricultural pest, from the island of Tahiti and several other French Polynesian islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
Winemaking waste proves effective against disease-causing bacteria in early studies
A class of chemicals in red wine grapes may significantly reduce the ability of bacteria to cause cavities, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
More Grapes News Articles
 | The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) by John Steinbeck |
 | Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks, Wayne W. Dyer |
 | The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classics) by John Steinbeck |
 | From Vines to Wines: The Complete Guide to Growing Grapes and Making Your Own Wine by Jeff Cox |
 | Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass by Natalie MacLean |
 | Grapes Of Math (bkshelf) (Scholastic Bookshelf) by Greg Tang |
 | Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath (Cliffs Notes) by Kelly McGrath Vlcek |
 | The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture |
 | Stop the Thyroid Madness: A Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Treatment by Janie A. Bowthorpe |
 | Western Civilization: Volume II: Since 1500 by Jackson J. Spielvogel |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |