Pinot Noir wine composition from different vine vigour zones classified by remote imaging technology

The relationship between grapevine vigour and grape and wine composition was investigated in this study. Own-rooted Pinot Noir grapevines were grown in a commercial vineyard in Tasmania, Australia, with uniform vineyard management practices. Vine vigours were determined by plant cell density (PCD) obtained from aerial photography. As vine vigour decreased, total soluble solid in grapes, total phenolics and anthocyanins in wines increased, while titratable acidity and yield decreased. Wines from the ultra low vine vigour zone had the highest concentrations of esters and alcohols. Higher level of linalool, nerol, geraniol, vitispirane, and B-ionone were observed in ultra low vigour and low vigour zones, but there was no obvious trend for citronellol and B-damascenone. Principal component analysis and discriminant analysis of the volatiles illustrated the differences among wines from the four vine vigour zones. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.