Wine News: Wine With a Double Shot of Vitamin C?

"Genetically designed grapes with elevated levels of vitamin C may be more than wishful thinking, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Adelaide, Australia, who recently identified an enzyme in grapes that helps convert vitamin C into tartaric acid, a key acid in winemaking.

This discovery about the biochemical pathway by which grapes synthesize tartaric acid will appear the week of March 20 in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"While we're a long way from producing wine that will replace your morning glass of orange juice or vitamin C tablet, we now have a much better idea of one way in which the healthfulness of grapes and wine might be enhanced," said UC Davis plant pathology professor Doug Cook.

"It's been said that 'acid is the nerve of great wine,'" Cook added, quoting Richard Geoffroy of Dom Perignon. "Given the importance of tartaric acid in wine, it is possible that understanding how this pathway is regulated in grape berries may have practical implications for how we grow grapes and make wine."

Tartaric acid is the most abundant acid found in grapes. It plays an important role in the taste of the grape as well as in the flavor, color and texture of wine, and can sometimes be seen as crystals in the wine or on the wine bottle's cork. It is relatively rare in other fruits and, unlike other fruit acids, is synthesized from vitamin C instead of sugars. Scientists had previously identified the chemical intermediaries in the production of tartaric acid, but none of the enzymes responsible for this synthesis had been identified."

Full article here.

March 21, 2006

Wine News: Wine With a Double Shot of Vitamin C?