The effects of soil on wine and the other long-reaching effects that climate change will have.

"Matthews brings a scientist's skepticism and scrutiny to widely held ideas and beliefs about viticulture--often promulgated by people who have not tried to grow grapes for a living--and subjects them to critical examination: Is terroir primarily a marketing ploy that obscures our understanding of which environments really produce the best wine? Can grapevines that yield a high berry crop generate wines of high quality? What does it mean to have vines that are balanced or grapes that are fully mature? Do biodynamic practices violate biological principles? These and other questions will be addressed in a book that could alternatively be titled (in homage to a PUP bestseller) On Wine Bullshit"--Provided by publisher.

People who make, sell, or enjoy wine have increasing awareness that climate change will affect how and where wine is produced. This is the first general-audience trade book to look at this growing issue in world-wide winemaking. It is neither a polemic on the climate-change debate nor a gloom-and-doom warning that good wine is threatened, but rather a detailed look at the ways in which the world of wine will be altered as our climate changes.

Wine has been described as a window into places, cultures and times. Geographers have studied wine since the time of the early Greeks and Romans, when viticulturalists realized that the same grape grown in different geographic regions produced wine with differing olfactory and taste characteristics. This book, based on research presented to the Wine Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers, shows just how far the relationship has come since the time of Bacchus and Dionysus. Geographers have technical input into the wine industry, with exciting new research tackling subjects such as the impact of climate change on grape production, to the use of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems for improving the quality of crops. This book explores the interdisciplinary connections and science behind world viticulture. Chapters cover a wide range of topics from the way in which landforms and soil affect wine production, to the climatic aberration of the Niagara wine industry, to the social and structural challenges in reshaping the South African wine industry after the fall of apartheid. The fundamentals are detailed too, with a comparative analysis of Bordeaux and Burgundy, and chapters on the geography of wine and the meaning of the term ‘terroir’.

Many aspects of both grape production and winemaking influence wine sensory properties and stability. Progress in research helps to elucidate the scientific basis of quality variation in wine and suggest changes in viticulture and oenology practices. The two volumes of Managing wine quality review developments of importance to wine producers, researchers, and students. The focus is on recent studies, advanced methods and likely future technologies. Volume 1 opens with chapters reviewing current understanding of wine aroma, colour, taste and mouthfeel. Part two focuses on the measurement of grape and wine properties. Topics covered include instrumental analysis of grape, must and wine, sensory evaluation and wine authenticity and traceability. The effects of viticulture technologies on grape composition and wine quality attributes are the subject of part three. Terroir, viticultural and vineyard management practices, fungal contaminants and grape processing equipment are among the areas discussed. Volume 2 opens with chapters reviewing the impact of different winemaking technologies on quality. Topics covered include yeast and fermentation management, enzymes, ageing on lees, new directions in stabilisation, clarification and fining of white wines and alternatives to cork in wine bottle closures. Managing wine sensory quality is the major focus of part two. Authors consider issues such as cork taint, non-enzymatic oxidation and the impact of ageing on wine flavour deterioration. The volume concludes with chapters on the management of the quality of ice wines and sparkling wines. Reviews current understanding of wine aroma, colour, taste and mouthfeel Details the measurement of grape and wine properties through instrumental analysis, must and wine, and sensory evaluation Reviews the impact of different technologies on wine quality