Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 17 October 2019   It is well known that adding fertilisation to vineyard soils contribute to soil fertility and vine nutrition and development. Nutrient deficiencies in the vineyard will not only hamper the health and growth of the...

Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 30 September 2019   Oxygen pickup is regularly seen during various winemaking processes. Some processes can even result in the wine being saturated with oxygen (especially if the wine’s temperature is very low). This dissolved oxygen...

Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 12 September 2019 The coveted General Smuts Trophy for the best wine at the SA Young Wine show was won by Flagstone Winery in Somerset West for their 2019 Sauvignon Blanc (unwooded). This was the fifth time in the competition’s 187-year...

ENSURING TARTRATE STABILITY IN SOUTH AFRICAN SAUVIGNON BLANC... SINCE 2019!   Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 27 August 2019 Until now, various additives, such as metatartaric acid, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), mannoproteins and Gum Arabic showed some limitation...

A research summary Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 20 August 2019 In a previous blog post, we reported on a study where researchers investigated the effect of copper and glutathione addition, prior to bottling, on the evolution of key aroma compounds such as 3MH (fruity...

A research summary Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 24 July 2019 A study titled “Evolution of 3-mercaptohexanol, hydrogen sulfide, and methyl mercaptan during bottle storage of Sauvignon Blanc wines. Effect of glutathione, copper, oxygen exposure, and closure-derived...

Salinity - the cousin of Minerality Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 16 July 2019 In a previous blog post, the possible contribution of salt to the perception of minerality in wine was contemplated. After investigation, it seems that this topic has, in fact, barely been...

Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 8 July 2019 What exactly is the source of New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc elevated thiol concentration? One of the environmental factors that have been thought to play a critical role in the creation of these unique wines is the larger peak...

The romantic notion of soil minerals in wine...unromantically disproven Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 19 June 2019 Unlike virtually all other sensory attributes used to describe a wine, the word, “mineral”, is often taken to have a literal origin. Tasters reporting...

Karien O’Kennedy Winetech Sounds like an April Fool’s joke doesn’t it? It is in fact no joke, it’s serious stuff. In fact, so serious that Pernod Ricard France applied for a patent in the USA that has since been granted. The application abstract states the following:...

Dr. Carien Coetzee Basic Wine 30 May 2019 Volatile thiols (3MH, 3MHA, 4MMP) are sulphur containing compounds responsible for potent tropical fruit aroma in especially Sauvignon Blanc wine, where levels can reach far beyond the sensory perception threshold (the...

A Research Summary Dr. Carien Coetzee 17 May 2019 Part 1 of our Minerality in Sauvignon Blanc series investigated i) cultural differences in the perception of minerality, ii) how minerality is perceived and iii) sensory attributes associated with the perception of...

Dr. Carien Coetzee 23 April 2019 During one of the sessions at the Concours Mondial du Sauvignon in March this year, we tasted a brilliantly clear wine which had the slightest pink hue. After confirming that there were no blending components to this Sauvignon Blanc...

A Research Summary Dr. Carien Coetzee 5 April 2019 There are so many questions regarding the perception of “minerality” in wine. The lack of scientific evidence leaves the many questions unanswered, but researchers are slowly inching closer to gaining valuable...