“With a title like this and a price tag like that, this book is going to appeal to the seriously nerdy, and indeed, the winemakers, vineyard managers, oenology students etc., at whom the briefing document says it is targeted. Keen MW students might be in that list too.” (Wine Wisdom, 16 July 2013)
The history of wine is the history of sweet wine. In the Mediterranean basin, climate conditions encouraged growers to leave the grapes on vine to become overripe, or to pick the bunches and let them dry in the sun, before pressing them into wine. Until a few years ago, it was thought that these wines – such as Pedro Ximenez, Tokaj, Passito, and Vin Santo – were the result of simple grape drying, because the grapes were left in the sun, or inside greenhouses that had no controls over temperature, relative humidity or ventilation. But Amarone wine, one of the most prized wines of the world, is the first wine in which the drying is a controlled process. This controlled process – better defined as a grape dehydration – changes the grape at the biochemical level and involves specialist vine management, postharvest technology and production processes, which are different from the typical wine-making procedure.
Sweet, Reinforced and Fortified Wines: Grape Biochemistry, Technology and Vinification is the most comprehensive book available on the technical issues, scientific topics and characteristics of these important special wines. After an introductory chapter dealing with historical overview and the description of the cultural impact of sweet wines throughout the centuries in the Mediterranean area, the book is organized into three sections. The first section covers different technical and scientific aspects of the whole production chain, from the field to the cellar. The variety of options for managing the vineyard and different solutions for operating the dehydration process are outlined. The changes which occur at physiological and physico-chemical levels, characterizing the berries during on-vine and postharvest dehydration, and in relation to noble rot infection, are then described. The first section also extensively reports issues, methods and technical solutions to optimize vinification for the best possible quality of sweet wines. The second section of the book is dedicated to well-known reinforced, fortified or sweet wines produced in different areas of the world. These chapters, describing the specific characteristics and quality traits of wines, highlight the cultural diversity and variety of protocols applied in this segment of the wine industry. The third and final section deals with the market for sweet, reinforced and fortified wines, and not only includes statistics and data regarding the current marketing situation, but also posits some opportunities and strategies for the future.
Sweet, Reinforced and Fortified Wines: Grape Biochemistry, Technology and Vinification will be a valuable resource for wineries, wine makers and wine operators, as well as postharvest specialists, vineyard managers, and grape growers. Enology students will prize it as the first in-depth study of these wines, while agriculture and viticulture facilities and course leaders will find it detailed and comprehensive.
From the Back Cover
The history of wine is the history of sweet wine. In the Mediterranean basin, climate conditions encouraged growers to leave the grapes on vine to become overripe, or to pick the bunches and let them dry in the sun, before pressing them into wine. Until a few years ago, it was thought that these wines – such as Pedro Ximenez, Tokaj, Passito, and Vin Santo – were the result of simple grape drying, because the grapes were left in the sun, or inside greenhouses that had no controls over temperature, relative humidity or ventilation. But Amarone wine, one of the most prized wines of the world, is the first wine in which the drying is a controlled process. This controlled process – better defined as a grape dehydration – changes the grape at the biochemical level and involves specialist vine management, postharvest technology and production processes, which are different from the typical wine-making procedure.
Sweet, Reinforced and Fortified Wines: Grape Biochemistry, Technology and Vinification is the most comprehensive book available on the technical issues, scientific topics and characteristics of these important special wines. After an introductory chapter dealing with historical overview and the description of the cultural impact of sweet wines throughout the centuries in the Mediterranean area, the book is organized into three sections. The first section covers different technical and scientific aspects of the whole production chain, from the field to the cellar. The variety of options for managing the vineyard and different solutions for operating the dehydration process are outlined. The changes which occur at physiological and physico-chemical levels, characterizing the berries during on-vine and postharvest dehydration, and in relation to noble rot infection, are then described. The first section also extensively reports issues, methods and technical solutions to optimize vinification for the best possible quality of sweet wines. The second section of the book is dedicated to well-known reinforced, fortified or sweet wines produced in different areas of the world. These chapters, describing the specific characteristics and quality traits of wines, highlight the cultural diversity and variety of protocols applied in this segment of the wine industry. The third and final section deals with the market for sweet, reinforced and fortified wines, and not only includes statistics and data regarding the current marketing situation, but also posits some opportunities and strategies for the future.
Sweet, Reinforced and Fortified Wines: Grape Biochemistry, Technology and Vinification will be a valuable resource for wineries, wine makers and wine operators, as well as postharvest specialists, vineyard managers, and grape growers. Enology students will prize it as the first in-depth study of these wines, while agriculture and viticulture facilities and course leaders will find it detailed and comprehensive.
About the Author
Professor Fabio Mencarelli is based atthe
University of Tuscia, Italy,in the Postharvest Labof the
Department for the
Innovation of Biological, AgriFood and Forestry Systems.
Professor Pietro Tonutti is based at the Scuola
Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, Italy, where he
leads a research project on fruit ripening and post-harvest physiology.
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