RESEARCH ARTICLE

Soil Types Effect on Grape and Wine

Composition in Helan Mountain Area of
Ningxia
Rui Wang1,2, Quan Sun2, Qingrui Chang1*
1 College of Resource and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P.R. China,
2 Grape and Wine Engineering Research Centre of Education Ministry, Ningxia University, Yinchuan,
Ningxia, 750021, P.R. China

* changqingruixn@sina.com

Abstract
Different soil types can significantly affect the composition of wine grapes and the final wine
product. In this study, the effects of soil types on the composition of Cabernet Sauvignon
grapes and wine produced in the Helan Mountains were evaluated. Three different repre-
sentative soil types—aeolian, sierozem and irrigation silting soil were studied. The composi-
tions of grapes and wines were measured, and in addition, the weights of 100-berry
samples were determined. The grapes that grown on the aeolian and sierozem soils ma-
OPEN ACCESS
tured sooner than those grown on the irrigation silting soil. The highest sugar content, total
Citation: Wang R, Sun Q, Chang Q (2015) Soil soluble solids content, sugar to acid ratio and anthocyanin content were found in the grapes
Types Effect on Grape and Wine Composition in
that grown on the aeolian soil. The wine produced from this soil had improved chroma and
Helan Mountain Area of Ningxia. PLoS ONE 10(2):
e0116690. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690 tone and higher-quality phenols. The grapes grown on the sierozem soil had the highest
total phenol and tannin contents, which affected the wine composition. The grapes grown
Academic Editor: Tiffany L. Weir, Colorado State
University, UNITED STATES on the irrigation silting soil had higher acidities, but the remaining indices were lower. In ad-
dition, the grapes grown on the aeolian soil resulted in wines with better chroma and aroma.
Received: June 28, 2014
The sierozem soil was beneficial for the formation of wine tannins and phenols and signifi-
Accepted: December 15, 2014
cantly affected the wine composition. The quality of the grapes from the irrigation silting soil
Published: February 23, 2015 was relatively low, resulting in lower-quality wine.
Copyright: © 2015 Wang et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original author and source are
credited. Introduction
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are Soil provides the foundation for grape vine growth, providing the necessary water and nutrition
within the paper and its Supporting Information files. [1]. The physical and chemical characteristics of soils, such as soil type, soil structure, soil depth,
Funding: This work was supported by the National
fertility, temperature and soil moisture, directly affect vine root growth and nutrient absorption
Natural Science Foundation of China (31160417) and [2]. Although wine grapes can adapt to many soil types, grape and wine composition are signifi-
National Key Technology R&D Program in the 12th cantly affected by soil types, which influences the taste of the final product. Wine grapes grown
Five year Plan of China (2013BAD09B02). on highly permeable soils and under the same environmental conditions with large diurnal tem-
Competing Interests: The authors have declared perature differences have faster photosynthetic rates, higher sugar concentrations, and im-
that no competing interests exist. proved chroma and palate [3,4]. Nutrients are more easily absorbed in slightly alkaline to

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690 February 23, 2015 1 / 12

 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

neutral pH soils, which improves vegetative vine growth and fruit quality [5]. Soil fertility, par-
ticularly soil potassium and calcium concentrations, and soil microorganisms can influence the
sugar and tannin contents of wine grapes [6,7]. Soils that are rich in P and Ca promote the accu-
mulation of sugar and the formation of aromatics and anthocyanin in grapes [8,9].
The effects of regional characteristics such as soil type, climate and topography on grape phe-
nolic compounds have been widely investigated [10,11]. All aspects of the soil-plant-atmosphere
interaction are known to control grape berry composition [12]. Therefore, different soil types
can lead to discrepancies in wine composition, even under the same climate conductions
[5,12,13–15].
The composition of wine mainly depends on the composition of the grapes, followed by the
wine-making technique [16]. The sugar, acid, tannins, anthocyanin and aromatics contents of
the grapes and their interactions play key roles in the composition of wine [17]. Phenolic com-
pounds, which mainly consist of anthocyanin, flavonoids, phenolic acids and stilbenes, play an
important role in the composition of red grapes and wines [18]. These compounds contribute
to the color and palatability of red wines [19,20]. Consequently, grape variety and fermentative
and aging conditions affect the composition and content of phenolic compounds in wines. Re-
garding single-variety wine, the composition and content of phenolic compounds largely de-
pend on the vineyard [21]. In Andalusia (southern Spain), there are more than 22 main wine-
producing sub-regions, and each sub-region produces representative wines due to its local
soil characteristics [22]. Several studies have investigated the effects of climate, canopy micro-
climate, soil types, and water status on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in grapes,
revealing that most of these factors can affect the accumulation of phenolic compounds
[2,23–25]. However, most of these studies focused on the effects of particular factors on phenol
accumulation and were generally not concerned with the impacts of soil types. According to Li
et al., understanding the impacts of soil types on the phenolic compounds in grapes and wines
is necessary for identifying moderate grapevine cultivars and for developing an effective viticul-
ture management program [21]. It is difficult to study the effects of soil types on grape and
wine composition because they involve many factors. Currently, the pH, mineral content, and
fertility of vineyard soils can be artificially modified to improve the quality of grapes. However,
the soil types of a vineyard cannot be easily changed. Therefore, it is important to study the
grape and wine composition from different soil types [8,15,21,26,27].
Different soils types have different soil physical structures and mineral nutrient contents.
Because aeolian soil has high sand contents, it has highly permeable, low nutrient and plant
available water contents (PAWC). Irrigation silting soil has equivalent percentages of clay, silt
and sand, which makes it less permeable, with medium levels of PAWC. The structure of siero-
zem soil is loose and highly permeable, which results in moderate PAWC and fertility with low
organic matter and mineral nutrient contents and high Ca concentrations [3,15]. Generally,
the most favorable soil types for grape production in this arid region are gravelly and sandy
loam soils, and grapes grown in gravelly soils result in better wine quality [3,28].
This study aimed to analyze the differences in wine grapes and wine composition among
three soil types in the Helan Mountains. The objective of this research was to evaluate the rela-
tionships between soil types and wine grape composition and to provide practical information
for adjusting vineyard growing practices and optimizing wine flavor.

Materials and Methods

Ethics statement
The study was approved by the Grape and Wine Engineering Research Centre of Education
Ministry and was conducted at their experimental station in Ningxia (NW China).

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690 February 23, 2015 2 / 12

 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

Table 1. Basic physical and chemical parameters of three soil types.

Treatment Organic Available N Available P Available K Exchangeable Ca pH Percentage of each grain size %
matter g kg-1 mg kg-1 mg kg-1 mg kg-1 mg kg-1
Clay Silt 0.002– Sand 0.02–
<0.002 mm 0.02 mm 2 mm
Aeolian soil 2.74 22.35 18.64 68.44 402.27 8.43 3.45 6.11 90.44
Sierozem 4.46 48.25 32.79 97.27 438.91 8.41 12.65 38.62 48.73
Irrigation 10.57 76.73 88.92 198.31 415.67 8.40 28.97 40.37 30.66
silting soil
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690.t001

The study area

The vineyards are located on the Helan Mountain alluvial plain in Ningxia (NW China) (37°430 -
39°230 N, 105°450 -106°470 E) at an altitude of approximately 1035 m with a cool, semi-arid cli-
mate and large diurnal temperature differences. The annual accumulated temperature varies
from 3298–3351°C, with abundant sunshine of annual average sunshine 2800~3000 hours and
low annual rainfall of 158–200 mm. Early frosts are common on the slopes of the Helan Moun-
tains, and winter temperatures are very low (<-10). Therefore, the grapevines must be covered
with soil to prevent injury. Any harvesting delay will reduce the available time for pruning and
soil covering. In 2013, three wine-growing areas with distinct soil types were selected: an aeolian
soil area (Yuquanying town, 38°230 37.38@N, 106°90 25.14@E), a sierozem area (Qingtongxia city,
38°270 0.28@N, 106°10 31.54@E) and an irrigation silting soil area (Luhua town, 38°340 13.73@N,
106°100 25.06@E). The three regions showing a triangular distribution and direct distance of them
are less than 20 km, the altitude, light, rainfall and other climatic conditions are similar. All test
points are our school experimental base, in order to understand the difference in quality wines
under different soil types, all cultivation and management are the same, unified pruning, fertiliza-
tion, irrigation and disease prevention. The basic soil physical and chemical parameters from
these areas are shown in Table 1. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety was planted in 2006 in
rows orientated north to south and with an individual vine density of 0.5 × 3.0 m.

Composition analysis of grapes and wines

In 2013, sixty plants were selected from each soil type in the vineyards as the study subjects. At
the commencement of veraison (~mid-August), samples were collected weekly over a 8-week
period until final harvest, which usually occurred during the first week of October. During the
final harvest of each replicate, a random sub-sample of 100 grapes was weighed to determine
the average grape weight. The samples were frozen and stored for later analyses, including tan-
nin, anthocyanin, and iron-reactive phenolic content analyses. 0Brix was determined using a
Brix refractometer (PR32 Atago Co. Ltd., Japan). Reducing sugars were determined using titra-
tion with Fehling reagent, and titratable acidity was determined using standardized 0.1 N
NaOH (end-point pH 8.2). The pH of the juice was recorded using a Metmorph 702SM auto-
matic neutralizer (Titrino, Herisau, Switzerland) [3,8,15]. Whole grapes from the frozen sam-
ples were homogenized and analyzed for their anthocyanin, tannin, and iron-reactive phenolic
concentrations, which were determined using spectrophotometry after extraction with ethanol
[29,30]. The wine chroma was also measured using spectrophotometry, alcohol and dry extract
contents were determined using the wine generic analytical method [21]. In this study, the de-
tails of winemaking process refer to Fig. 1.

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690 February 23, 2015 3 / 12

 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

Fig 1. Wine making process schematic.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690.g001

Statistical methods
Significant differences among soil types were random determined by methods of one-way
ANOVA and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls
test using the SAS 8.1 software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) followed by the least signifi-
cant difference (LSD) test for multiple comparisons among groups. Differences with p values
of less than 5% (p<0.05) were considered statistically significant.

Results
100-berry weight
During the maturation period, the 100-berry weight varied significantly among the different
soil types (Fig. 2a). It increased during the early maturation period and stabilized in mid-
September. The grapes grown on the aeolian and sierozem soils had loose clusters with relative-
ly lower 100-berry weights relative to the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soils (Table 2).
Grapes grown on sierozem soil had the lowest 100-berry weight which was significantly lower
than the grapes grown on the aeolian soil. The grapes from the irrigation silting soil vineyards
had tight clusters and significantly greater 100-berry weights than the aeolian and sierozem
soil sites.

Total soluble solids and reducing sugar content

Generally, the total soluble solids increased during the maturation period of the grapes
(Fig. 2b). During early maturation, the total soluble solids concentrations in the grapes grown
on the aeolian soils were significantly lower than those grown on the sierozem soils. However,
by mid-maturation, the situation was reversed. Over the entire maturation period, the total sol-
uble solids concentrations from the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil increased steadily
(Fig. 2b), which was significantly lower than the total soluble solids concentrations of the
grapes grown on the other soils (Table 2). The grapes harvested on October 3rd from the

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690 February 23, 2015 4 / 12

 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

Fig 2. Changes in grape composition.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690.g002

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690 February 23, 2015 5 / 12

 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

Table 2. Analytical composition of the grapes at harvest period on three soil types.

Treatment Weight of 100 Soluble Reducing Titratable Juice Anthocyanins Total phenols Tannins
berries g solids°brix sugar g L-1 acidity g L-1 pH mg g-1 mg g-1 mg g-1
Aeolian soil 198.23±5.32b 24.55±0.45a 249.35±6.32a 6.25±0.01b 3.76 7.55±0.01a 15.30±0.02b 42.65
±0.02a ±0.05a
Sierozem 182.10±2.26c 23.50±0.26a 245.40±4.17a 6.35±0.02b 3.77 7.23±0.01b 15.95±0.02a 43.25
±0.01a ±0.04a
Irrigation 211.45±3.57a 18.18±1.31b 193.75±2.29b 6.80±0.01a 3.81 6.18±0.02c 14.33±0.03c 30.35
silting soil ±0.01a ±0.07b

Note: Multiple comparisons were conducted among different levels of the same factor in one column (p<0.05).

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690.t002

aeolian soil had the highest soluble solids content, which was not significantly different from
that of sierozem soils.
During the first 3 weeks of maturation, the grape reducing sugar content increased steadily
in all soil types. However, the accumulation rates increased during the subsequent 2 weeks for
the grapes that were grown on the aeolian and sierozem soils (Fig. 2c). The reducing sugar ac-
cumulation rates of the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil steadily increased (Fig. 2c).
The reducing sugar contents in the final harvest grapes from the aeolian and sierozem soils
were not significantly different. However, these reducing sugar contents were significantly
greater than those of the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soils.

Titratable acidity and pH

The titratable acidity increased steadily during maturation and decreased rapidly during the first
3 weeks (Fig. 2d). The titratable acidities of the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil, siero-
zem, and aeolian soils decreased respectively, during the first week. At final harvest, the titratable
acidities of the grapes grown on the aeolian and sierozem soils were similar to each other, and
they were significantly lower than the values of the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soils.
During the first 5 weeks of maturation, the pH of the grape juice generally increased by
0.10 pH units each week (Fig. 2e). Although the pH of the grapes grown on the aeolian soils sta-
bilized at 3.76 during the remainder of the harvest period, the grapes grown on the other soils
stabilized at a pH that was 0.30 pH units lower for 2 weeks before reaching an equivalent level
(Table 2) in the final week.

Sugar to acid ratio

Sugar to acid ratios in the grapes from the aeolian and sierozem soils were generally higher
than those in the grapes from the irrigation silting soil. Until September 5th, the values were

Table 3. Changes in the sugar to acid ratio during the maturation period.

Treatment Date

15/8 22/8 29/8 5/9 12/9 19/9 26/9 3/10

Aeolian soil 20.22±1.34a 26.43±0.24a 27.97±2.22a 29.40±0.98a 33.85±0.56a 37.19±0.37a 39.03±1.02a 40.16±0.57a
Sierozem 16.18±0.26b 20.89±0.06b 24.55±0.64b 26.00±1.37b 32.88±0.29a 35.54±0.22a 37.19±1.11a 38.89±0.52a
Irrigation silting soil 13.33±0.57c 16.50±1.33c 19.00±0.92c 22.95±1.11c 24.59±1.18b 25.89±1.15b 26.76±0.97b 28.38±1.01b

Note: Multiple comparisons were conducted among different levels of the same factor in one column (p<0.05).

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690.t003

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 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

similar, but they tended to diverge in the final 4 weeks (Table 3). At harvest, the sugar to acid
ratio of the wine grapes from the aeolian soil reached 40.16, followed by 38.89 for the grapes
from the sierozem soil and 28.38 for the grapes from the irrigation silting soil (Table 3). The
sugar to acid ratio is a determinate of grape maturity and indicated that grape maturity oc-
curred in the following order, from earliest to latest: aeolian, sierozem and irrigation
silting soil.

Analysis of anthocyanin
The anthocyanin contents in the grape during the first 5 weeks of maturation increased before
decreasing over the final 2 weeks (Fig. 2f) in all treatments. Throughout the sampling period,
the anthocyanin contents of the grapes grown on the aeolian and sierozem soils remained sig-
nificantly greater than those grown on the irrigation silting soil. At harvest, the anthocyanin
content decreased slightly in all treatments. The highest anthocyanin content appeared in the
wine grapes from the aeolian soil, which was significantly higher than the contents obtained
from those grown on the sierozem soil. The lowest anthocyanin content was observed in the
grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil and was significantly lower than the content observed
in the grapes grown on the sierozem soil (Fig. 2f).

Total phenol and tannin contents

During the early stages of the mature period, the total phenol contents in the wine grapes from
the sierozem soil were lower than those grown on the aeolian soil (Fig. 2g). After September
12th, berry maturation was accelerated. Thus, the total phenol contents of the wine grapes
grown on the three soil types increased rapidly. The grapes from the sierozem soil achieved the
fastest rate, surpassing the rates of those grown on the aeolian soil. At harvest, the total phenol
contents of the grapes from the sierozem soil reached 15.95 mg g-1, which was significantly
greater than that of the grapes grown on the aeolian soil. The total phenol contents of the
grapes from the irrigation silting soil were the lowest among the treatments and were signifi-
cantly lower than in the grapes grown on the aeolian soil.
Before August 29th, the tannin contents of the wine grapes from the three soil types were
similar. However, after August 29th, the tannin contents of the wine grapes from the sierozem
and aeolian soils rapidly increased, reaching a stable value by September 26th. However, the
tannin contents of the wine grapes from the irrigation silting soil continued to increase gradu-
ally (Fig. 2h). At harvest, the tannin contents of the wine grapes from the sierozem soil reached
43.25 mg g-1, followed by 42.65 mg g-1 from the aeolian soil. However, the difference between
the sierozem and aeolian soils was not significant. The tannin content of the grapes from the ir-
rigation silting soil was only 30.35 mg g-1, which was significantly lower than that of the grapes
from the other two soil types.

Effects of soil types on wine composition

According to Table 4, the alcohol contents of the wines made from the grapes grown on the ae-
olian and sierozem soils were significantly greater than from the grapes grown on the irrigation
silting soil. No significant differences occurred regarding the remaining sugar contents, dry ex-
tract concentrations, and pH among the wines produced from the grapes grown on the differ-
ent soil types. The total acid content of wine is influenced by maturity level and berry density
and was greater in the wines made from the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil relative
to the sierozem and aeolian soils. The wine made from grapes grown on the aeolian soil had
the highest anthocyanin content, followed by the wines made from the grapes grown on the

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 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

Table 4. Wine composition analysis that produced on three soil types.

Treatment Alcohol % Residual Total acid Dry extract Chroma Tone pH Anthocyanins Total phenols Tannins
vol sugar g L-1 g L-1 g L-1 mg L-1 mg L-1 mg L-1
Aeolian soil 12.29 2.53±0.02a 6.17 23.35 8.23 0.73 3.72 245.50±1.21a 1912.50 2034.75
±0.02a ±0.11b ±0.01a ±0.04a ±0.01a ±0.02a ±45.36b ±25.46b
Sierozem 12.48 2.52±0.01a 6.24 23.30 8.18 0.75 3.72 243.55±1.00a 2088.00 2172.50
±0.06a ±0.06b ±0.02a ±0.02a ±0.01a ±0.02a ±38.42a ±30.29a
Irrigation 11.40 2.51±0.01a 6.66 23.25 6.06 0.55 3.71 189.43±1.35b 1654.50 1773.75
silting soil ±0.01b ±0.09a ±0.01a ±0.63b ±0.03b ±0.01a ±41.37c ±56.87c

Note: Multiple comparisons were conducted among different levels of the same factor in one column (p<0.05).

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690.t004

sierozem and irrigation silting soils. The anthocyanin content was significantly lower in the
wines from the irrigation silting soils relative to the other two soil types.
Soil types played an important role in the tannin and total phenol contents of the grapes.
The wine made from grapes from the sierozem soil had the highest tannin and total phenol
contents, followed by the aeolian soil and the irrigation silting soil, the latter of which was sig-
nificantly lower than the other two soil types.
Similar to the phenolic compound results, the chromas of the wines made from the grapes
grown on the aeolian and sierozem soils were not significantly different. The wines from the ae-
olian and sierozem soils both had chromas of approximately 8.20, which was significantly
greater than that of the wine from the irrigation silting soil (Table 4). The wines that originated
from the aeolian and sierozem soils had nearly the same tone, which were significantly higher
than that of the wine originating from the silting soil (Table 4).

Discussion
Soil composition as a determining factor for the sensory profile of a wine, the types and texture
will influence the root systems and the soil water-holding capacity and mineral composition
[31,32]. In addition, it can influence the sensory attributes of wine [13,33]. Light loam soils
with coarse and fine sands are beneficial for improving grape quality. The photosynthetic rate
and fruit sugar and anthocyanin contents of grapes grown on stony sandy loam soils are high.
However, the tannin contents of grapes grown on aeolian soils are greater, stickier soil particles
are less beneficial for grape composition [3,22,34]. Here, the moderate air and water permeabil-
ity of the aeolian and sierozem soils resulted in the accumulation of high anthocyanin concen-
trations and a small berry size. The wine grapes from the irrigation silting soil had tight
clusters and relatively high 100-berry weights, which were significantly greater than those of
the grapes from the aeolian and sierozem soils.
Sugar, organic acid, phenolic compounds, anthocyanin and aroma substances are all impor-
tant for wine composition, with sugar being the most important substance. Grapes with higher
sugar contents can produce full-bodied wines [31,35]. Thus, our results indicated that the
sugar contents of the berries increased rapidly during the maturation period, whereas the acidi-
ty decreased before remaining stable (Fig. 2b). The sugar contents and sugar acid ratios of the
grapes from the aeolian and sierozem soils were greater than those from the irrigation silting
soil. However, the total acid content in the former soils was lower than that of the irrigation
silting soil. Berry acidity mainly decreased due to berry respiration, in which the organic acids
were transformed into sugars [8,33,36]. Berry acidity not only influences wine flavor but also

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 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

the fermentation process. The sugar to acid ratio was greater in the wine grapes from the aeo-
lian and sierozem soils relative to the irrigation silting soil.
Some differences in the various phenolic compounds were observed in the regional wines,
which suggested that the accumulation of phenolic compounds in grape berries is strongly af-
fected by soil type [10,37–39]. The anthocyanin content, the total phenol content and the tan-
nin contents in the grapes from the aeolian and sierozem soils were greater than in the grapes
from the irrigation silting soil. In addition, the aeolian soil provided favorable conditions for
the formation of anthocyanin and aroma substances, and the sierozem soil provided favorable
conditions for the formation of tannin and phenolic compounds in the grapes, which corre-
sponded with previous results [3,22].
Soil texture had the most wide-reaching influence on the wines from the various sites. How-
ever, consistency among vintages was not observed [40,41]. Zones with soils with high clay tex-
tures appeared to produce wines with more earthy and citrus aromas, whereas zones with
sandy soils produce wines with floral and melon aromas and flavors [33]. It is difficult to dis-
cern the impacts of soil texture on wine composition. In clay zones, heavier berries are pro-
duced with slightly delayed fruit maturity, lower berry Brix values, higher acidic contents and
lower pH values [33]. These previous findings are consistent with our study: the total acid con-
tent of the wine grapes from the irrigation silting soil were significantly higher than those of
the wine grapes from the sierozem and aeolian soils, and the pH values of the wine grapes from
the aeolian soil were greater than those of the wine grapes from sierozem and irrigation
silting soils.
At the same grape-ripening level, soil may affect several wine characteristics. Wines from
poorer soils with higher coarse fractions exhibit higher total phenolic contents and color inten-
sity but lower resveratrol concentrations [2,41]. The degree of oxidation and composition can
be determined based on the wine chroma and tone. The wine made from the grapes grown on
the sierozem soil had the highest tannin and total phenol contents, and the wine made from
the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil had the lowest levels. The difference between the
chromas of the wines made of the grapes from the aeolian and sierozem soils was not signifi-
cant. The chroma values of the wines resulting from the aeolian and sierozem soils were signifi-
cantly greater than the chroma resulting from the irrigation silting soil (Table 4). Furthermore,
the wines made from the grapes from the aeolian and sierozem soils had similar tone values,
which were significantly higher than that from the wine made from the irrigation silting soil
grapes (Table 4). Thus, the wine made from the grapes grown on the sierozem soil had better
chroma. If the anthocyanin and tannin contents are high, the tone of the wine will be rich; oth-
erwise, the tone of the wine will be weak.
Different soil types resulted in significant differences in the total sugar and total acid con-
tents of the grapes and, to some extent, the anthocyanin, tannin, phenolic and aroma contents
in the berry skin. The grapes from the aeolian soil have small berry size and loose fruit clusters.
The skin color was nicer and the skin fruit ratio was higher for the grapes from the sierozem
soil. Therefore, the sugar and anthocyanin contents and the color density were greater, which
resulted in better tasting and looking wine with a high tannin content. However, the composi-
tion of the wine made from the grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil was
comparatively lower.

Conclusions
The grapes grown on the sierozem soil that matured early had high sugar and anthocyanin
contents. Consequently, these grapes produced wine with better chroma. Furthermore, the
grapes grown on the sierozem soil that matured during a moderate period had medium tannin

PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0116690 February 23, 2015 9 / 12

 Soil Type on Grape and Wine Composition

contents and low acidity. In general, the sierozem soil was favorable for the formation of tan-
nins and phenolic compounds, which influenced the mouthfeel and composition of the wine.
The grapes grown on the irrigation silting soil had high acidity and lowest contents of other
investigated substances.

Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31160417,
31460552) and by the National Key Technology R&D Program in the 12th Five-year Plan of
China (2013BAD09B02). We thank our colleagues for their comments regarding this paper
and the journal’s editors and anonymous reviewers for their critical reviews and comments re-
garding this manuscript.

Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: QC RW. Performed the experiments: RW. Analyzed
the data: RW QS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: QS. Wrote the paper: RW QC.
Helped modify the syntax: QC QS.

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