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  Platter’s data enhances understanding of chenin blanc wine

24 Jun 2014

Topics: AgroSup, Carlo Valente, Chenin Blanc Association, Department of Viticulture & Oenology, Dominique Valentin, Florian Bauer, Hélène Nieuwoudt, Ina Smit, Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Philip van Zyl, Platter's Guide, South Africa, South African Society for Enology & Viticulture, South African wine, Stellenbosch University

Data supplied by Platter’s Guide is helping Stellenbosch University researchers better understand the wines made from South Africa’s most widely planted variety, chenin blanc, and ultimately enhance consumers’ enjoyment of chenin in all its forms.

With 18% share of the national vineyard and a footprint of over 17,000 hectares, chenin blanc is a “workhorse” grape but also a noble one, capable of scaling the pinnacle of quality, as the array of 11 five star varietal chenins in the current edition of Platter’s attests.

Chenin blanc is also extremely versatile, and can be made in what Hélène Nieuwoudt, researcher in Wine Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University, describes as an “exuberant diversity” of styles.

To better understand this diversity, and provide pointers to the wine industry for future style developments, a significant amount of research into the sensory properties and the chemical nature of chenin blanc wines has already been done at the Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Department of Viticulture & Oenology (IWBT-DVO) at Stellenbosch University.

CAPTURING SENSORY ATTRIBUTES

"We are particularly interested in capturing the sensory attributes of this adaptable variety," Hélène says, "and investigating possible links with vinification techniques and aroma chemical composition of the wines.

“Towards this aim, we undertook an in-depth sensory and chemical profiling of chenin styles and established a database on about 150 wines. This initial aim was achieved in close collaboration with other academic partners, as well as the Chenin Blanc Association and Winetech.

“Valuable insights into chenin blanc styles were gained from past research; however, the number of wines that were tested for sensory attributes did not sufficiently cover the complete range of chenin dry- and off-dry categories, particularly with new styles reaching the consumer market.

“To expand the sensory database, we are attempting a novel and original approach by using the sensory descriptors in Platter’s for chenin blanc dry- and off-dry wines assessed for editions 2008 to 2014.

MINING PLATTER'S DATA

“These data were kindly made available to our research group, and this additional resource enables us to expand the existing chenin blanc database while investigating the scientific correlations that we are interested in. It also, and for the first time, opens the door for mining Platter's data for wine style identifiers and sensory trends.”

Assisting in this endeavour, initiated in 2014, is new MSc (Wine Biotechnology) student Carlo Valente, prof Martin Kidd, (statistician, Centre for Statistical Consultation, Stellenbosch University), prof Dominique Valentin, AgroSup, Dijon, France (cognitive psychologist and expert in consumers’ wine and food perceptions) and Florian Bauer (professor in Wine Biotechnology, Stellenbosch University).

The researchers believe that Platter’s data will not only help the research efforts, but also contribute towards clarifying the complex and sometimes confusing sensory descriptions for the chenin blanc wine consumer.

The plan is to make the findings available to Platter’s and the wider wine industry, as well as via scientific papers and presentations such as at the annual conference of the South African Society for Enology & Viticulture (SASEV), to be held in Somerset West in November 2014.

In the photo (from left): Hélène Nieuwoudt, Ina Smith (manager, Chenin Blanc Association), Carlo Valente and Philip van Zyl (editor, Platter’s Guide).


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