Project Volta: Bourgogne continues to study the longevity of its white wines
The white wines of Bourgogne owe their reputation to their remarkable longevity. Yet in the face of a changing climate, the profiles of musts and wines are evolving. Understanding how ageing potential is built makes it possible to adapt practices and thus preserve this unique heritage.
In partnership with Vinventions, the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB), and 40 wineries, the VOLTA project uses Vinventions’ Polyscan tool to assess winemaking practices and support producers in building wine longevity.
The ageing potential of Bourgogne’s white wines has long been a hallmark of their identity. Yet in the face of climate change and evolving market expectations, mastering this potential has become a strategic challenge for the industry.
In 2020, the BIVB launched the VOLTA project in partnership with Vinventions and a unique network of 40 Bourgogne wineries. The goal: to decipher how the ageing potential of Bourgogne wines is built and provide winemakers with a reliable tool to anticipate it.
‘This collective initiative is a first in Bourgogne: 40 partner wineries, 5 vintages monitored to date, thousands of measurements carried out and compared with tastings. VOLTA reflects our determination to place Bourgogne winegrowers and négociants at the heart of our R&D projects, to foster a fertile dialogue between science and the field, and thus accelerate the transfer of knowledge,’ explains Domitille Brosseau, Head of Oenology Projects at the BIVB.
Polyscan: A Tool to Objectivise the Impact of Winemaking Practices
Thanks to the Vinventions’ Polyscan decision-making tool, the project was able to measure the impact of cellar practices at each key stage. Hundreds of batches have thus been monitored, from the arrival of the harvest at the winery through to bottling. This demonstrated that winemaking choices directly influence a wine’s resistance to oxidation and, consequently, its longevity.
‘Harvest handling plays a crucial role, particularly with grapes rich in polyphenols’ explains Christine Pascal, Head of Oenology and WQS at Vinventions. ‘Any practice that promotes their extraction – such as sulfiting the grapes or crushing – increases the risk of the wines being sensitive to oxidation. Conversely, limiting these extractions strengthens the wines’ resistance.’
Ageing methods also play a determining role. ‘Our results show that ageing on lees and using lightly toasted new or one-year-old barrels contribute to building resistance to oxidation. These are long-held traditional practices, and VOLTA now provides scientific evidence to back them up,’ adds Domitille Brosseau.
Bottle monitoring offered further insight. At bottling, wines were assessed for their oxidative tendency (TE) using the Polyscan tool, allowing them to be ranked by sensitivity to oxidation. These classifications were then validated by successive tastings.
‘Wines identified as ‘sensitive’ showed earlier development of honeyed or dried fruit notes during tastings. Meanwhile, wines identified as ‘resistant’ retained freshness and fruit expression much longer, explains Emmanuel Brenon, WQS Development Manager at Vinventions.
These results suggest that longevity is not merely inherited, it is actively built. VOLTA provides data-backed insights to better understand the impact of winemaking choices.
‘This approach is not a substitute for winemakers’ expertise. It enhances it by providing measurable benchmarks and decision-making tools. It opens new perspectives for preserving the identity of Burgundy’s white wines and their place as global benchmarks,’ concludes Frédéric Barnier, Chair of the BIVB Technical and Innovation Commission.
The next phase of the project will explore the role of grape maturity and its impact on ageing potential.
About Vinventions
Vinventions is the world’s most comprehensive provider of closure solutions for wine, spirits, olive oil, and vinegar. Designed to meet the diverse needs of producers, Vinventions’ closures combine performance, design, and sustainability. Its portfolio includes the Nomacorc Green Line, Blue Line, and Ocean ranges; SÜBR (micro-natural corks); Vintop (screw caps); and WQS, a range of oenological devices, equipment, and services for improving wine quality and consistency through real-time quality control.
Vinventions employs more than 650 people worldwide, with production sites in Mexico, Belgium, France, Italy, Argentina, South Africa, and China. The company’s core values include customer proximity, innovation, empowerment, open teamwork, sustainability, and long-term responsibility.
Learn more: www.vinventions.com
The Bourgogne Wine Board is a professional organization that brings together all winegrowers and wine merchants from the Bourgogne region. Its role is to represent and protect the interests of Bourgogne winemakers and merchants, to define industry policy in technical, economic and marketing terms, and to conduct promotional activities.