35 research outputs found
Impronta territoriale di un prodotto alimentare. La ricerca dell’Università di Ferrara in difesa del Made in Italy
No full textL’Università di Ferrara ha lavorato negli ultimi anni su metodologie innovative di analisi geochimiche per la valutazione della qualità dei prodotti agricoli italiani: mele, pere, graminacee e vino. La ricerca è rivolta principalmente alla difesa del made in Italy e alla tutela dei prodotti di origine protetta. Adesso, con il progetto “Territorialità del Prosecco”, il team costituito da: Salvatore Pepi, Luigi Sansone, Diego Tomasi, Patrick Marcuzzo e Stefano Soligo e coordinato dalla professoressa Carmela Vaccaro del Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della terra dell’Università di Ferrara ha messo a punto un innovativo metodo di analisi, finalizzato a definire l'unicità di uve e vini, applicato ad uno dei più importanti distretti viti-vinicoli italiani.
Il Prosecco è un vino di eccellenza, la cui denominazione fa riferimento a un territorio definito e a un certo numero di cantine e di aziende vinicole. Data la notevole richiesta del mercato, si sono rese necessarie misure di controllo che evitino contraffazioni, tagli delle uve, usi impropri o illeciti della denominazione.
In sintesi, attraverso una serie di analisi integrate che riguardano il suolo, la composizione del prodotto (uva e vino) e le sue caratteristiche qualitative, è stato possibile definire “ l’impronta territoriale” del Prosecco, ovvero le caratteristiche che un vino deve avere, se è stato davvero prodotto nel territorio e nelle cantine che fanno parte del distretto.
L’analisi del suolo riguarda le caratteritiche geochimiche del terreno, la sua tessitura, l’impronta climatica. L’analisi della composizione chimica consente il riconoscimento del prodotto e l’individuazione delle quantità di elementi minerali (calcio, magnesio, sodio, potassio, ferro, etc.) che lo caratterizzano. La stessa analisi consente di individuare la presenza o l’assenza di componenti con caratteri di tossicità, che contribuiscono a definire la qualità del prodotto.
I risultati di queste analisi costituiscono “ l’impronta territoriale ” del prodotto, impronta che non può essere falsificata. Un vino prodotto con uve provenienti da altri territori, o anche solo tagliato con uve diverse, non può avere la stessa composizione chimica del Prosecco originale, anche se solo all’apparenza la qualità è uguale.
La metodologia applicata per la definizione dell’impronta territoriale” consente valutazioni molto mirate, al punto che sullo stesso territorio i prodotti di imprese vinicole differenti hanno impronte diverse.
Al termine del progetto, dopo una fase di caratterizzazione dei prodotti di ogni cantina, ogni impresa vinicola della zona di produzione avrà la propria impronta territoriale, informazione che potrà in futuro entrare nell’etichetta e tutelare il prodotto finito
Against the Stream: Ajit Singh and His Battles
No full textThis book pays homage to Ajit Singh, economist and intellectual fighter for
many causes. It does so through intertwined narratives including, among the
major strands, Singh’s life and works, the Faculty of Economics and Politics
in Cambridge, and the Punjab and Sikhism — all of which the author manages
to weave together with rich prose, fine scholarship and passionate commitment
to the subject
Review of G. Fletcher, Understanding Dennis Robertson. The Man and His Work
No full textThis book is likely to be received with mixed feelings by readers, who may
be attracted or repelled by its approach. The methodological position
defended by the author is that biography expresses a point of view and is
more akin to presenting and developing an argument, than collecting and
recording facts. The way the main argument is pursued is at times fascinating,
at times contorted, leaving the reader now convinced, now puzzled
Sraffa and his arguments against 'marginism'
No full textThe subtitle of Sraffa's most celebrated work, Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, is prelude to a critique of economic theory. Given that no later work was ever published by Sraffa, we are left to wonder what would have come after the prelude. This paper suggests that the core of the critique might have been the marginal method itself. By carefully distinguishing between published and unpublished work, we shows that Sraffa's opposition to the marginal method follows several threads, some of which were developed over a period of nearly 35 years, such as the belief that economic theory should use only measurable and observable magnitudes, the critique of the 'fundamental' symmetry between production and consumption, and the disagreement with the Marshallian concept of equilibrium. Although none of the arguments reached a stage that Sraffa considered satisfactory enough to be worth publishing, our reconstruction sheds light on his research programme and on otherwise rather obscure passages in his works. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.
Influence of Soil Chemical Features on Aromatic Profile of V. vinifera cv. Corvina Grapes and Wines: A Study-Case in Valpolicella Area (Italy) in a Calcareous and Non-Calcareous Soil
No full textIn the Valpolicella area (Verona, Italy) one of the most important Italian wines is being produced: Amarone, predominately made by Vitis vinifera cv. Corvina. This wine is subjected to a specific postharvest process, namely, withering, which aims to increase alcohol content and/or high residual sugars while retaining richness in aromas and organoleptic compounds. In accordance with guidelines and strict Amarone protocol set by the Consorzio of Amarone-Valpolicella, withering must be carried out by setting the grapes in a suitable environment. In our study, the withering process was performed following the traditional methods, i.e., in open-air, natural environmental conditions, as generally performed by winegrowers, leading to a weight loss in grapes of up to 30%. Whilst the effect of different postharvest conditions is clear and studied, it is interesting to know how soil can affect both grapes and wine profile, in terms of aromas, which are of great importance for this crafted wine. For this purpose, for two study years, the influence of two different sites (with regards to the carbonates’ content) on aromas were investigated. Furthermore, microvinifications and the sensory profile of the resulting wines were analysed. Our results clearly indicated that different soils’ characteristics, particularly differences in carbonate content, had an important effect, not only on the aromatic compounds of grapes and wines, but on the sensory profile as well. This information will help winegrowers and winemakers in the process of determining site selection for future vineyards in order to obtain a final optimum Amarone wine, in terms of its aromatic composition—one that is able to respond to the market demand
Counteracting Grey Mould (Botrytis cinerea) in Grapevine ‘Glera’ Using Three Putative Biological Control Agent Strains (Paraburkholderia sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Acinetobacter sp.): Impact on Symptoms, Yield, and Gene Expression
No full textThis study examined the potential use of three bacterial strains—Paraburkholderia sp. strain CRV74, Pseudomonas sp. strain CRV21, and Acinetobacter sp. strain CRV19—as biocontrol agents of Botrytis cinerea in grapevine. These strains were selected for their ability to inhibit B. cinerea growth in vitro and used in field conditions for the control of grey mould symptoms in ‘Glera’ grapes. To this end, after inoculating these microorganisms onto plants sprayed with B. cinerea spores, the final yield, the physicochemical characteristics of the must, disease incidence, and the possible influence on the expression of plant-defence proteins were evaluated. Strain CRV21 resulted as being the most effective in combating grey mould (−20% of disease incidence). Although yield was not affected, significantly different values of total soluble solids content was observed. Additionally, a significant up-regulation of the genes PR-1, PR-5, β-1,3-glucanase, and class III chitinase was observed. These findings highlight the potential application of strains with anti-botrytis activity as sustainable alternatives to chemical defence for the control of this pathogen
Joan Robinson through the lenses of sixty years of book reviews
No full textIn this paper, we discuss Joan Robinson’s views through the lenses of her 127 book reviews, an activity which she engaged in throughout her life. A complete list of them—so we hope—is presented with full reference to the original place of publication, in the form of tables arranged by decade. We follow her work in chronological order, taking each decade as the framework to analyse what she was working on at the time and show how her reviews were—at times loosely, at times closely—connected with her scientific and political concerns. In some cases, the reviews amounted to review essays, which she reprinted in her Collected Economic Papers, but even in the short reviews she managed to give full expression to her views on the topic or author, and thus they offer us additional insights into her mode of thought, examples of her crisp prose and forceful style of argument. Her reviews ranged over a great variety of topics, reflecting over 60 years of the development of economics, or at least those aspects and topics which she deemed relevant at the time, and so they come to form part of her intellectual legacy, as much as her published work
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Fertigation affects photosynthesis, modulation of secondary metabolism and sensory profiles of Vitis vinifera cv. “Schioppettino” withered grapes and wines
No full textNowadays a balance in plant production is required, especially in terms of nutrition, yield and for an optimal aroma and sensory profile of resulted wines. In this research, we compared two different methods of plant nutrition: one-single application (single-fertilization-SF) and two applications with the same amount adopting the fertigation (split fertigation-SpF), including a control not-treated, in a specific Italian region where grapevine Schiopettino cv. is being cultivated and this practice was not investigated yet. SpF promoted the photosynthesis parameters compared to a SF and to the non-treated vines (NTC). On these basis, the biological and physiological activity of the whole plant was enhanced. SpF treatment tendentially and significantly improved the qualitative, productive, physiological, and oenological parameters of “Schioppettino” wine
Sensorial potential of new fungi-resistant varieties in modern oenology
No full textContext and purpose of the study – The introduction into the Italian wine supply chain of the latest generation of fungi-resistant grapevine varieties, endowed with a greater or lesser strong resistance to downy and powdery mildews, represents a valid tool of making viticulture more sustainable, particularly in northern regions of the peninsula, where climatic conditions accentuate the pressure of fungal diseases However, the affirmation of resistant varieties is a function of their agronomic value, as well as of their oenological and sensorial value. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in detail the sensory potential of the new resistant varieties, in order to understand their real possibility of inclusion in the modern global enological context.
Material and methods – The research involved the sensory analysis of 29 resistant wines from two vintages (2019 and 2020), plus 2 control wines (Pinot bianco and Pinot noir), carried out by a trained panel. Samples were anonymized with numerical codes, to ensure anonymous evaluations, and randomized. Additionally, a replicate sample was introduced into each block. The work plan envisaged a first step in which a special file was created to identify the salient qualitative and quantitative characteristics of wines from resistant grape varieties. The descriptors usually used in the sensory cards have been integrated with the dominant descriptors identified by the panelists, in particular floral, fruity, vegetable, spicy and the foxy note characteristic of the non-noble breeding parent. The sensory analysis data were processed with descriptive and parametric techniques in order to identify specificities with significant and potentially usable differences for the creation of new brands or blends with traditional varieties.
Results – An analysis of the sensory characteristics of wines obtained from the latest generation of resistant varieties was carried out. The general characteristics typical of each resistant wine have been highlighted, yet interesting sensory potential for both white and red wines was found, at any rate variability between varieties arose. In general, results obtained are promising and can be used to define the criteria for a gradual diffusion of these new varieties. In particular, the identification of some dominant descriptors for the olfactory part will be used to manage the viticultural and oenological techniques, in order to optimize the most interesting sensory characteristics of the resistant varieties, limiting the perception of the Volpino flavour, that has been perceived. The sensory data can also be used to define the possibilities of vinification in purity, or in blends, of the new generation resistant varieties. In general, the results confirm the possibility of using the new resistant varieties as a tool for a real low-impact viticulture
