The major parameters for adapting wines to market needs are their aromatic and polyphenolic properties, especially for export markets, which is one of the industry's levers for competitiveness. This allows the control of products' sensory properties and typology, with more and more customers looking for wines that have both a rich colour and a supple tannic structure.

In order to master these parameters, the joint technical unit endeavours to:
- identify interactions between the aromatic potential, micro-organisms, and the nutrient content and survival factors of the medium;
- develop methods that give quick decision-making aids for controlling the phenolic quality of wine;
- estimate the organoleptic contribution of polyphenols through the analysis of the colour and the estimation of astringency.

This joint technical unit started its five-year programme in 2011, on the Pech-Rouge site in the Aude department, with strong support from the IFV and Inra teams from Montpellier.

The joint technical unit's scientific and technical programme is divided into two parts:

Part 1: Control of aromatic quality
Interaction with the yeast's nitrogenous nutrition
Interaction with turbidity

Part 2: Control of polyphenolic quality
Quick polyphenolic analysis by deconvolution of an overall spectrum
Method for estimating the organoleptic contribution of polyphenols.