Chenin blanc

Chenin blanc (known also as Pineau de la Loire among other names) is a white wine grape variety from the Loire Valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make varieties from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled. Outside the Loire, it is found in most of the New World wine regions; it is the most widely planted variety in South Africa, where it was historically also known as Steen. The grape may have been one of the first to be grown in South Africa by Jan van Riebeeck in 1655, or it may have come to that country with Huguenots fleeing France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Chenin blanc was often misidentified in Australia, as well, so tracing its early history in the country is not easy. It may have been introduced in James Busby's collection of 1832, but C. Waterhouse was growing Steen at Highercombe in Houghton, South Australia, by 1862. It provides a fairly neutral palate for the expression of terroir, vintage variation, and the winemaker's treatment. In cool areas, the juice is sweet but high in acid with a full-bodied, fruity palate. In the unreliable summers of northern France, the acidity of under-ripened grapes was often masked with chaptalization with unsatisfactory results, whereas now, the less-ripend grapes are made into popular sparkling wines such as Crémant de Loire. The white wines of the Anjou AOC are a popular expression of Chenin as a dry wine, with flavors of quince and apples. In nearby Vouvray AOC, vintners aim for an off-dry style, developing honey and floral characteristics with age. In the best vintages, the grapes can be left on the vines to develop noble rot, producing an intense, viscous dessert wine, which may improve considerably with age. French ampelographer Pierre Galet has theorized that Chenin blanc originated in the Anjou wine region sometime in the 9th century, and from there traveled to Touraine by at least the 15th century.

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Logements collectifs et jardins familiaux: densification urbaine à Neuchâtel

Aziz Temel

Par l'histoire de Neuchâtel, nous apprenons qu'au XVIIIe siècle la ville était pourvue d'un espace vert nommé “Jardin Desor”. La présence de calcaires, vestiges des rivages anciens, avait permis à ceux-ci d'être joliment aménagés en sculptures minérales durant les siècles passés. Situé à l'entrée Est de la ville, il offrait un cadre idyllique aux citadins en quête de nature à vivre. Quelques décennies plus tard, l'urbanisation croissante a provoqué la disparition de ce jardin qui se trouvait sur l'actuelle pointe du site de la Maladière. Au fur et à mesure, ce dernier s'est vu approprier par la construction d'immeubles se jouxtant les uns aux autres, sans pour autant réinvestir la “nature” du lieu-même. Alors qu'elle avait été traitée avec sensibilité et poésie, elle se manifeste actuellement par un dénivelé mal absorbé et représente une blessure pour tout un quartier. A travers le thème des jardins familiaux et ses usages, comme élément de compréhension globale d'une ville et de sa nature urbaine, il s'agit ici de concevoir un nouveau morceau de ville pour des familles désireuses de trouver une nouvelle conception du “vivre ensemble”. Par une hybridation du végétal et du bâti, allant de l'espace public de la ville jusqu'à l'espace privé du logement, le projet tente de concilier densité urbaine et qualité de vie, afin de nous conter une nouvelle histoire: celle de la “nature” d'un sol et de ses strates successives.

2013

Analysis of acidity production during enhanced reductive dechlorination using a simplified reactive transport model

David Andrew Barry, Alessandro Brovelli, Clare Robinson

Build-up of fermentation products and hydrochloric acid at a contaminated site undergoing enhanced reductive dechlorination can result in groundwater acidification. Sub-optimal pH conditions can inhibit microbial activity and lead to reduced dechlorination ...

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Evolution of S-Cysteinylated and S-Glutathionylated Thiol Precursors during Oxidation of Melon B. and Sauvignon blanc Musts

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Thiol precursor content in Melon B. and Sauvignon blanc grape juices obtained under vacuum was determined by quantifying cysteinylated and glutathionylated conjugates of 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH) and 4-methyl-4-mercaptopentan-2-one (4MMP). This characteri ...

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White wine

White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. White wine has existed for at least 4,000 years. The wide variety of white wines comes from the large number of varieties, methods of winemaking, and ratios of residual sugar. White wine is mainly from "white" grapes, which are green or yellow in colour, such as the Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Riesling.

South African wine

South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and gouverner Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Production is concentrated around Cape Town and almost exclusively located within the Western Cape province, with major vineyard and production centres at Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.

Loire Valley (wine)

The Loire Valley wine region includes the French wine regions situated along the river Loire from the Muscadet region near the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast to the region of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. In between are the regions of Anjou wine, Saumur, Bourgueil, Chinon, and Vouvray. The Loire Valley itself follows the river through the Loire department to the river's origins in the Cévennes but the majority of the wine production takes place in the regions noted above.