Assessment of Selected Parameters for Determining the Internal Quality of White Grape Cultivars Grown in Cold Climates

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Please see uploaded file

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thank you for your insightful reviews and constructive comments. All comments were taken into account. We waited a long time for the linguistic correction. Corrections and comments are in the attached file. This file is not linguistically corrected, this version went to the publishing house.

 

I have a huge problem with sending the pdf version with the corrections.

Is it possible to send the correction file in a different way than through the system?

Reviewer 2 Report

Authors - Thank you for taking the time to submit this manuscript for review. I have some concerns I would like to see you address. They are listed below by line number. Please reply to each comment. 

 

Line 6 - Typo. There are two superscript number 1s. 

Lines 15 through 19 - Seems like you need to relate these items you are interested in back to cool climate viticulture. Also, please have a native English speaker review the manuscript. 

Line 23 - Awkward wording. 

Line 24 - 'only Vitis vinifera L.' you can delete the and vine in that sentence. 

Line 28 - Sentence needs a citation. 

Line 30 - Sentence is confusing. 

Line 74 - Soil classification citation needed. 

Line 75 - How can you compare composition if the soluble solids varied so greatly? 

Line 78 - (Table 1), capitalization of Table. 

Line 81 - Is it the average of the last 5 years? 2 years? 10 years? Please add more information in the table description. 

Lines 98 through 99 - Spacing issue. 

Lines 115 through 117 - Are these previously established protocols? 

Line 118 through 119 - Spacing issue. 

Line 159 - How can you compare chemical composition of grapes at different levels of maturity? This needs more justification. 

Line 161 - winemaking is one word. 

Line 173 - Pedo didn't have statistical confirmation? 

Line 179 - Table 2 spacing is odd. Please clean up the table and justify everything properly. 

Line 226 - Odd centering of the first row. 

 

The introduction is winding and unfocused. I would suggest an intensive re-write to really focus in on the topic at hand - cool climate viticulture and the inability to ripen grapes suitably. Major English editing is required. 

In the materials and methods, you need to clearly detail the climate, annual and seasonal rainfall, Winkler growing region would be helpful. 

The results/discussion need more development as to WHY and how this is impactful information. 

Author Response

Line 6 - Typo. There are two superscript number 1s. 

has been corrected

Lines 15 through 19 - Seems like you need to relate these items you are interested in back to cool climate viticulture. Also, please have a native English speaker review the manuscript. 

The manuscript will be submitted to native speaker

Line 23 - Awkward wording. 

So it has been translated by a professional translator and will be revised by a native speaker

Line 24 - 'only Vitis vinifera L.' you can delete the and vine in that sentence. 

I do not understand the intention of the correction

Line 28 - Sentence needs a citation. 

No specific research was found, therefore there is no citation to it. The influence of polyphenols on wine is due to their properties.

Line 30 - Sentence is confusing. 

It was changed

Line 74 - Soil classification citation needed. 

We add information about granulometric composition of this soil. It should be clear.

Line 75 - How can you compare composition if the soluble solids varied so greatly? 

We have an experiment with different cultivars, using in Polish vineyards. The aim of experiment was shown how differences between cultivars can be different on their term of full maturity. That’s the reason that we compare this six cvs.

Line 78 - (Table 1), capitalization of Table. 

what is the size of the table, how should it be?

Line 81 - Is it the average of the last 5 years? 2 years? 10 years? Please add more information in the table description. 

The verse above is given, the average over 30 years

Lines 98 through 99 - Spacing issue. 

has been corrected

Lines 115 through 117 - Are these previously established protocols? 

These are the methods described below and pre-established for this type of research

Line 118 through 119 - Spacing issue. 

has been corrected

 

 

Line 159 - How can you compare chemical composition of grapes at different levels of maturity? This needs more justification. 

The point of reference was the harvest date. At that time, frosts began in the area and the fruit had to be harvested.

Line 161 - winemaking is one word. 

has been corrected

Line 173 - Pedo didn't have statistical confirmation? 

He had statistical research. However, they do not fully confirm this statement.

Line 179 - Table 2 spacing is odd. Please clean up the table and justify everything properly. 

I don't understand the remark

Line 226 - Odd centering of the first row. 

I don't understand the remark

 

The introduction is winding and unfocused. I would suggest an intensive re-write to really focus in on the topic at hand - cool climate viticulture and the inability to ripen grapes suitably. Major English editing is required. 

The text was sent for linguistic proofreading.

In the materials and methods, you need to clearly detail the climate, annual and seasonal rainfall, Winkler growing region would be helpful. 

The results/discussion need more development as to WHY and how this is impactful information. 

The text of the discussions and conclusions has been redrafted

Reviewer 3 Report

The article titled: Selected parameters of the internal quality of white grape cultivars grown in cold climate is interesting and follows trends in applied science. English must be improved. The introduction is generally well written, however, it should be described more extensively.

Materials and Methods

• From my point of view, the authors could rearrange the section 2.3:

2.3 Preparation of Grape extract

2.4 Total Phenolic Content (TPC)

2.5 Antioxidant Activity determination

ABTS explanation (radical scavenging assay)

DPPH explanation (radical scavenging assay)

FRAP explanation (Ferric reducing antioxidant power)

• Replace on all the paper the word "Polyphenols" with the phrase "TPC"

Results and discussion

• The author could improve the discussion

Conclusions

• The English must be improved. Grammar errors are clearly presented.

In my opinion, the current version of the manuscript needs to be revised and corrected.

 

Author Response

The article titled: Selected parameters of the internal quality of white grape cultivars grown in cold climate is interesting and follows trends in applied science. English must be improved. The introduction is generally well written, however, it should be described more extensively.

Materials and Methods

• From my point of view, the authors could rearrange the section 2.3:

2.3 Preparation of Grape extract

2.4 Total Phenolic Content (TPC)

2.5 Antioxidant Activity determination

ABTS explanation (radical scavenging assay)

DPPH explanation (radical scavenging assay)

FRAP explanation (Ferric reducing antioxidant power)

Has been corrected

 

• Replace on all the paper the word "Polyphenols" with the phrase "TPC"

Has been corrected

Results and discussion

• The author could improve the discussion

After corrections from other reviewers, the changes were made.

Conclusions

• The English must be improved. Grammar errors are clearly presented.

In my opinion, the current version of the manuscript needs to be revised and corrected.

The manuscript has been sent for linguistic proofreading

 

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for addressing the comments. 

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear author,

the document lacks precisions in all sections. Indeed, the aim of the article is not clearly explained. The results are not really argued (references and comparison with other grape varieties, comparisons with extraction methods with others studies) and the conclusions are not very robust for the generality on the path (link between composition of grape based only on polyphenols, sugar and macronutrients and wine quality). It is well know that the wine quality is related to the balance between component and not by their maximum quantity. In addition, the authors never speak about aroma compounds that are the important parameter for wine quality. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity is not linked with wine quality.

 

In my opinion this paper should be reworked to better guide the subject and to better argue the results.

The article cannot be accepted and a great deal of experimental analysis and interpretation must be conducted.

Author Response

The aim of the work has been clarified.

The research results were compared with available other researchers.

The conclusions have been completely redrafted.

Unfortunately, aromatic compounds have not been studied.

In the publication, we did not define the quality of wine, but grapes as the raw material for wine production. In this case, the antioxidant properties have a significant influence on the properties of the raw material.

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for your submission. I have some specific feedback I would like you to consider. 

 

• Line 13; 'Abstract' is included twice. 
• Lines 24 - 26; Are you referring to cultivars or species? The term naturally growing makes me think you are discussing species but then you go on to mention Vitis vinifera specifically. Please add some clarity here. 
• Line 28 - 30; I think it could be argued that the in cool climate viticulture, 'quality' is defined as the ability to fully ripen a crop. Maybe a comment about cool climate vs. warm climate viticulture is appropriate here. 
• Line 67 - 68; Is this a temperate climate or a cool climate study as the title would suggest?
• Line 75; I would argue that Souvignier Gris should correctly be Souvignier gris as 'gris' is a color descriptor. Please correct throughout. 
• Line 80 - 90; This would be better as a table. Please convert. 
• Line 91; There seems to be a typo. Remove the comma after pectin and create a line space between 2.2 section heading and the start of the first paragraph. 
• Line 111; Again, you need to be consistent with line spacing after the section heading. This applies throughout the manuscript. 
• Line 122; mas should be mass. 
• Line 124; I am confused with the reference to white cabbage. 
• Line 145; The period after USA can be deleted. 
• Line 146; Put the make and location in parenthesis. 
• Line 150; There is an unnecessary space after the word 'using'. 
• Line 153-154; Awkward wording. 
• Line 155-156; Why weren't the various cultivars harvested at a specific target Brix? This is a major area of concern as development and ripeness will influence the traits you were analyzing. 
• Line 160; V. vinifera is always italicized. 
• Line 160; I would argue that 'peels' is not the appropriate word selection here. Are you referring to the exocarp (skin)? 
• Line 163; Throughout you use different spellings of winemaking (wine making, wine-making). Please correct throughout and be consistent. 
• Line 175; Again, I wonder how informative this information is when the cultivars were not harvested at a target Brix. There is substantial variation here that would, of course, influence the rest of the factors examined. 
• Line 195-197; See above comment about using the work 'peel'
• Line 209 - 2011; Issues with formatting. Inconsistencies between table formatting with respect to the means comparison lettering. Watch your spacing. Issues with bold face type. 
• Line 216 - end; Unclear why the paragraph indentation has changed. 
• Line 224; See my above comments about Table formatting. Issues here as well with table description formatting. 

Author Response

All comments of the reviewer were included in the revised manuscript. The conclusions have been completely redrafted.

The manuscript was checked by a native speaker.

Reviewer 3 Report

Please see attached file

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Responses to reviews in the document. 

Linguistic correction has been carried out.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

I believe the paper and its content are very weak. In order to assess the oenological potential of the raw material, it is important to combine the wine-making tests with the must and wine analyses. 

As for the Brix content, chaptalisation may occur and its implementation is not an indication of "non quality" of the wines. 
In my opinion, the document is not sufficient to be published, it could have been proposed as a  raw material  to obtein hight added value from  by-product. The proposed analyses have no link with the oenological potential of the grapes. In general the analysis concern antocyanins, tannis, sugar, acidity, vegetal aroma, extraction potential in winemaking conditions, etc.

These parameters need to be compared between the proposed cultivars and those of the regions with optimal climatic conditions.

 

Author Response

As for the Brix content, chaptalisation may occur and its implementation is not an indication of "non quality" of the wines.

Chaptalization can be performed to a certain extent. of course, it does not affect the final quality of the wine.

In my opinion, the document is not sufficient to be published, it could have been proposed as a  raw material  to obtein hight added value from  by-product. The proposed analyses have no link with the oenological potential of the grapes. In general the analysis concern antocyanins, tannis, sugar, acidity, vegetal aroma, extraction potential in winemaking conditions, etc.

Yes, these parameters were tested during this experiment, as was the case with other types of fruit. There was no direct connection with the quality of the wine.

These parameters need to be compared between the proposed cultivars and those of the regions with optimal climatic conditions.

Pedò's research focused on analogous varieties grown in Vallagarina, a climate typical of grape growing and wine production.

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for your efforts to revise this manuscript. I urge you to take great care to detail in future revisions. It would be appropriate to respond to each comment from reviewers in addition to making the adjustment in the manuscript. 

 

Lines 28 - 31: Seems like two reasonably repetitive sentences. Consolidate your point for clarity please. 

General comment about the introduction: It still seems to wind around without clear direction. There are points where I feel you have combined two separate attempts at an introduction into one. 

Line 73: Is this a temperate climate or a cold climate study as the title would suggest?

Line 72: I would argue that Souvignier Gris should correctly be Souvignier gris as 'gris' is a color descriptor. Please correct. Other parts of the manuscript have corrected for this.  

Line 127: You indent this paragraph and the previous are not. Correct. 

Line 127 - 133: There is a spacing issue here. It is not consistent with line spacing of the other paragraphs. Correct. This comment applies to other sections throughout the manuscript as well. Correct throughout. 

General Comment: There are still a few issues in the tables you present with respect to keeping the number of decimals consistent after the period. Please correct. 

General Comment: I still have major concerns about the wide soluble solid range at which the various cultivars were harvest. You have not addressed this issue enough. There is a control issue here. 

 

Author Response

Lines 28 - 31: Seems like two reasonably repetitive sentences. Consolidate your point for clarity please. Has been corrected, In fact, the sentence repeated itself 

 

General comment about the introduction: It still seems to wind around without clear direction. There are points where I feel you have combined two separate attempts at an introduction into one. 

The first part explains why the cultivation was started in cold climates, the second shows the properties of these grapes.

Line 73: Is this a temperate climate or a cold climate study as the title would suggest?

Geographically, we are located in a temperate climate. Approaching the winirsko - we are in the cool climates zone (for viticulture).

Line 72: I would argue that Souvignier Gris should correctly be Souvignier gris as 'gris' is a color descriptor. Please correct. Other parts of the manuscript have corrected for this.  Has been corrected 

Line 127: You indent this paragraph and the previous are not. Correct. Has been corrected

Line 127 - 133: There is a spacing issue here. It is not consistent with line spacing of the other paragraphs. Correct. This comment applies to other sections throughout the manuscript as well. Correct throughout. Has been corrected

General Comment: There are still a few issues in the tables you present with respect to keeping the number of decimals consistent after the period. Please correct. Has been corrected

General Comment: I still have major concerns about the wide soluble solid range at which the various cultivars were harvest. You have not addressed this issue enough. There is a control issue here.

Harvesting of fruits that did not reach the appropriate brix content was carried out at the last possible date of harvesting. After this time, the temperature reached such a low value that it damaged the berries, caused them to freeze and then spoil.

 

Reviewer 3 Report

Please be consistent in writing. Sometimes the words grape variety are used and sometimes the words grape cultivar are used. 

Author Response

The names were standardized throughout the monograph, cultivar was used.

Round 3

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear auhtors,

the articles  has not been improved. It is necessary to make additional experiments or analysis  as specified in my report 2.

Bests regards

Author Response

Answer for reviewer 1 (blue)

As for the Brix content, chaptalisation may occur and its implementation is not an indication of "non quality" of the wines.

Chaptalization can be performed to a certain extent. of course, it does not affect the final quality of the wine.

Of course, in the areas permitted by law, chaptalisation is possible. The aim of the study, however, was to indicate that in Poland it is not always possible to obtain grapes with an appropriate sugar content. The varieties 'Chadonnay' and 'Bacchus' were harvested when the first autumn frost arrived and if left on the bush would have resulted in a complete loss of the yield.

We add sentence:

The grapes of the ' Chardonnay 'and Bacchus' cultivars were harvested on October 15, even though they were not fully ripe. The reason was the first autumn frost

 

In my opinion, the document is not sufficient to be published, it could have been proposed as a raw material to obtein hight added value from by-product. The proposed analyses have no link with the oenological potential of the grapes. In general the analysis concern antocyanins, tannis, sugar, acidity, vegetal aroma, extraction potential in winemaking conditions, etc.

Yes, these parameters were tested during this experiment, as was the case with other types of fruit. There was no direct connection with the quality of the wine.

The aim of the study was to examine the information presented in the document. If the reviewer decides that these data should be presented in another supplement - I am asking the editorial staff for favor in this regard.

These parameters need to be compared between the proposed cultivars and those of the regions with optimal climatic conditions.

Pedò's research focused on analogous varieties grown in Vallagarina, a climate typical of grape growing and wine production.

We do it with Pedo et al.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Line 71-72: The reference to terroir is vague. How are you defining terroir? I would avoid references to the word and instead focus on actual traits of the experimental site. 

Line 121: 'contentwas' should be 'content was'

Line 153-154: Spacing issue.

Table 3: Make places behind the decimal uniform.  

Author Response

Line 71-72: The reference to terroir is vague. How are you defining terroir? I would avoid references to the word and instead focus on actual traits of the experimental site. 

We have removed this term “terrior”

 , the main cause of which is a varied shape of the terroir

Line 121: 'contentwas' should be 'content was'

Yes, of course. We do it

 

Line 153-154: Spacing issue.

Yes, corrected.

Table 3: Make places behind the decimal uniform. 

Corrected.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx