Technological approaches to the vinification of Dornfelder grape variety cultivated in Romania

Abstract

In Romania, Dornfelder is a rare grape variety which started to become popular among some wine producers due to the intense colour of its wines. However, it is mostly used in blends and therefore varietal wines of Dornfelder are not found too often. In this paper we present some technological approaches suitable for the production of varietal wines of Dornfelder, some of them novel for the Romanian wine industry. The experimental samples include a classical red wine made by the usual technology using freshly harvested grapes (DW = Dornfelder wine) and two variants made with dried grapes (DR and DWDR). The DR variant (Dornfelder raisin wine) is produced by a straw-wine type technology, by fermenting a must obtained from grapes dried for 7 weeks. The DWDR is a variant obtained by fermenting a mixture of crushed dried grapes and new Dornfelder wine, the ratio of crushed raisins to wine being 1:1 in weight. The wines were analysed both physico-chemically and sensorially. After one year of aging in bottles, the variant DWDR of wine, produced by fermenting dried berries in already finished wine, proved to be the most balanced in taste, with an intense and complex aroma of berries and red fruit, also displaying good aging potential and stability. The variant DR appeared dense and intense, but with a less complex fruity aroma, with a dominant note of blueberries and black currants. Both straw wines are preferable to the classic varietal wine, which is vinous, but lacks structure and displays a dissociated acidity and a simple aromatic profile, with dominant sour cherry, mineral and vegetal notes.