Unravelling the scientific research on grape and wine phenolic compounds: a bibliometric study

Abstract

The antioxidant nature and the significant role played by phenolic compounds in wine organoleptic properties place these molecules in the core of a significant amount of viticulture and oenology research. Despite the large amount of grape and wine phenolic research, the understanding of the phenolic chemistry and its role played on wine quality still remains inconclusive. Bibliometric studies are a valuable tool to provide a critical evaluation of the research status of a specified topic. The evaluation of quantitative methods is used to process measurable outcomes of research activity from articles published in scientific journals and included in databases. The main aim of this study was thus to provide a bibliometric approach on phenolic compounds with an exclusive focus on grape and wine phenolics from a strictly winegrowing and winemaking perspective. To evaluate the scientific structure in phenolic compounds a bibliometric search using the Web of Science Core Collection platform from Clarivate Analytics was evaluated. The critical evaluation of the results showed a significant effort made towards the understanding of the organoleptic role played by phenolic compounds. Despite a considerable amount of research currently available, it is foreseen that the research efforts will move towards a more complete interpretation of the astringency and bitterness phenomena. Furthermore, it can also be speculated that future research topics will point towards the comprehension of wine flavour compounds in which phenolic substances are also expected to play a crucial role.