Influence of grape transport and destemming systems on the quality of Chardonnay wines

The winemaking technology plays a very important role in enology as it directly influences the characteristics of wine. In particular, grape transport and destemming are critical steps in winemaking for the wine quality. The aim of this study was to compare two different processing lines of Chardonnay grapes to evaluate their effects on the quality of the final product. In particular, grapes receiving, transporting and destemming were performed using different machines in order to evaluate their influence on the quality of Chardonnay wines. The use of a receiving hopper equipped with a belt conveyor, followed by a destemmer equipped with partially coated rubber beaters, allowed to obtain Chardonnay wines of overall higher quality than using a receiving hopper equipped with a screw conveyor, followed by a destemmer equipped with steel beaters. The results were supported by chemical analyses on musts and wines and by the sensory analysis of the wines.