Effect of oak wood barrel capacity and utilization time on phenolic and sensorial profile evolution of an Encruzado white wine

Comparative study on the use of seasoned or unseasoned casks made of wood from different origins for the ageing of Sherry vinegar

BACKGROUND

In the present study, the ageing process of Sherry vinegar in used (seasoned) or new casks made of chestnut, American oak, Spanish oak or French oak wood has been investigated, considering that no research has investigated whether this seasoning has a definite influence on the final composition of the aged beverage. The polyphenolic and volatile contents of the aged vinegars were determined and their sensory properties were evaluated. Different statistical tools were applied to the data collected.

RESULTS

With respect to polyphenolic contents, ageing time was the most influential factor, followed by the seasoned-cask factor. The type of wood was only significant for gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, methylfurfural, ethyl gallate, ferulic acid, coniferyl aldehyde and sinapaldehyde. Principal component analysis according to polyphenols did not allow the samples to be differentiated, whereas cluster analysis revealed a slight grouping trend according to ageing time and seasoning of the wood. In relation to volatile compounds, variance analysis revealed that, again, ageing time and cask-seasoning were the most significant factors, with the samples clustering according to these two parameters. Following the sensory study, a clear difference between seasoned and new cask vinegars could be established as a result of the high scores in olfactory quality obtained for those vinegars aged in new casks. This was probably because of an excess of the descriptor 'ethyl acetate' exhibited by seasoned-cask Sherry vinegars.

CONCLUSION

The previous seasoning of the casks together with the ageing time conditioned the composition of the vinegars aged in casks of different botanical origin, which translated into differences at a sensory level. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Influence of Different Types, Utilization Times, and Volumes of Aging Barrels on the Metabolite Profile of Red Wine Revealed by 1H-NMR Metabolomics Approach

It is well recognized that the aging process is a critical step in winemaking because it induces substantial chemical changes linked to the organoleptic properties and stability of the finished wines. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of different types, utilization times, and volumes of aging barrels on the metabolite profile of red wines, produced from Thai-grown Shiraz grapes, using a non-targeted proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) metabolomics approach. As a result, 37 non-volatile polar metabolites including alcohols, amino acids, organic acids, carbohydrates and low-molecular-weight phenolics were identified. Chemometric analysis allowed the discrimination of wine metabolite profiles associated with different types of aging containers (oak barrels vs. stainless-steel tanks), as well as the utilization times (2, 6 and >10 years old) and volumes (225, 500 and 2000 L) of the wooden barrels employed. Significant variations in the concentration of formate, fumarate, pyruvate, succinate, citrate, gallate, acetate, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, γ-aminobutyrate, methionine and choline were statistically suggested as indicators accountable for the discrimination of samples aged under different conditions. These feature biomarkers could be applied to manipulate the use of aging containers to achieve the desired wine maturation profiles.

The Impact of Compounds Extracted from Wood on the Quality of Alcoholic Beverages

The production of some alcoholic beverages very often requires the use of wood from various tree species to improve the quality parameters (smell, taste, and color) of the drink. The review discusses the types of wood used in the production of wines, beers, and flavored vodkas. Changes occurring in wood during the process of toasting barrels or wood chips are described. The compounds derived from wood that shape the aroma, taste, and color of alcoholic beverages are presented. Depending on their origin, they were classified into compounds naturally occurring in wood and those formed as a result of the thermal treatment of wood. Next, the influence of the presence of wood on the quality of alcoholic beverages was described, with particular emphasis on wine, beer, whisky, and brandy. The final part of the article presents innovative techniques using wood to impart qualitative features to alcoholic beverages.

Wine Faults: State of Knowledge in Reductive Aromas, Oxidation and Atypical Aging, Prevention, and Correction Methods

The review summarizes the latest scientific findings and recommendations for the prevention of three very common wine faults of non-microbial origin. The first group, presented by the reductive aromas, is caused mainly by excessive H₂S and other volatile sulfur compounds with a negative impact on wine quality. The most efficient prevention of undesirable reductive aromas in wine lies in creating optimal conditions for yeast and controlling the chemistry of sulfur compounds, and the pros and cons of correction methods are discussed. The second is browning which is associated especially with the enzymatic and non-enzymatic reaction of polyphenols and the prevention of this fault is connected with decreasing the polyphenol content in must, lowering oxygen access during handling, the use of antioxidants, and correction stands for the use of fining agents. The third fault, atypical aging, mostly occurs in the agrotechnics of the entire green land cover in the vineyard and the associated stress from lack of nutrients and moisture. Typical fox tones, naphthalene, or wet towel off-odors, especially in white wines are possible to prevent by proper moisture and grassland cover and alternating greenery combined with harmonious nutrition, while the correction is possible only partially with an application of fresh yeast. With the current knowledge, the mistakes in wines of non-microbial origin can be reliably prevented. Prevention is essential because corrective solutions for the faults are difficult and never perfect.

The Application of Wood Species in Enology: Chemical Wood Composition and Effect on Wine Quality

Aging wine is a usual practice in winemaking, as the wine quality improves due to the compounds extracted from wood barrels or chips, cubes, blocks, or staves used. The wood species used are traditionally oak, namely from Quercus petraea, Q. alba, or Q. robur species. In the last years, the increasing request for oak wood has caused a significant increase in environmental and production costs. Therefore, heartwood from several alternative species has been considered a potential wood source for winemaking and aging. Thus, the main purpose of this review is the application of these alternative wood species on wine production and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of its use compared with the traditional wood species, namely oak wood. In addition, a brief chemical characterization of several wood species with possible application in enology is also discussed in this review.

Chemical Analysis of Commercial White Wines and Its Relationship with Consumer Acceptability

White wine consists of numerous chemical constituents such as volatile and nonvolatile compounds including organic acids and polyphenols, which can affect aroma and flavor profiles. In addition to the enological factors, chemical analysis of commercial wines is also important for understanding consumer perception. Volatile compounds are major contributors to wine aroma. Nonvolatile compounds affect the flavor of wine, through acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and astringency. The volatile aroma profiles of 12 commercial white wines were analyzed using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and a Y15 automatic analyzer were used to identify and quantify 10 polyphenols and 12 other target nonvolatile compounds. Sensory evaluation of sample wines was conducted by wine consumers. White wines were distinguished based on volatile and nonvolatile compositions. A total of 33 volatile compounds and 23 nonvolatile compounds were analyzed. Seven volatile compounds were correlated with consumer acceptability. Sugars are positively correlated with consumer preference, while nonvolatile substances such as acetic acid and catechins are negatively correlated with consumer preference. These results might further our understanding of the relationship between the chemical composition and consumer preferences in commercial wines.

Impact of Chitosan-Genipin Films on Volatile Profile of Wine along Storage

Chitosan-genipin films have been proposed for preservation of white wine, maintaining their varietal key odorants and organoleptic characteristics of sulfur dioxide treated wines. Nevertheless, these wines showed aroma notes that slightly distinguish them. It is possible that during the contact of films with wine for at least 2 months, after fermentation and prior to bottling, interactions or chemical reactions are promoted. In this work, wine model solutions with volatile compounds in contact with chitosan-genipin films were performed to evaluate their evolution along time. To complement these analyses, the volatile compounds of white and red wines kept in contact with chitosan-genipin films during 2 and 8 months were also studied. The results obtained allowed us to conclude that the contact of chitosan-genipin films with both white and red wines tend to retain long carbon chain volatile compounds, such as ethyl hexanoate and octan-3-one. It also promoted the formation of Maillard reaction products, such as furfural by dehydration of pentoses and Strecker aldehydes, such as 3-methylbutanal and phenylacetaldehyde, by degradation of amino acids. This study reveals that the use of chitosan-genipin films for wine preservation is also able to promote the formation of compounds that can modulate the wines aroma, maintaining the varietal notes.

Wine Aging Technology: Fundamental Role of Wood Barrels

The aging of wines is a process used to preserve wine but also to enhance its properties. It is a process of great interest, mainly because of the additional properties it adds to wines and because of its economic implications. Historically, barrels have been employed for centuries for preserving and aging wine due to their resistance and relative impermeability. In general terms, the wine aging process can be divided into two phases: oxidative and reductive aging. Oxidative aging traditionally takes place in barrels while reductive phase occurs in the bottle. During both processes, oxygen plays a fundamental role as well as other factors, for instance: temperature, light, bottle position, microbial growth or storage time. Likewise, during the aging process, a series of chemical reactions take place influencing the composition and organoleptic profile of wine. At this point, oxidative aging in barrels is a fundamental step. Barrels are directly involved in the produced changes on wine's composition due to the transference of oxygen and phenolic and aromatic compounds from wood to wine. This way, barrels act as an active vessel capable of releasing compounds that affect and improve wine's characteristics. Regarding, the importance of barrels during aging process, some attention must be given to the species most used in cooperage. These species are conventionally oak species, either French or American. However, other non-conventional species are currently being studied as possible wood sources for the production of wines, such as chestnut robinia or other oak species. In the last decades, new approaches have been developed for barrel aging to find new alternatives more suitable, affordable and feasible to sanitize the process, such as other materials different from wood or the use of wood chips, which is regulated since 2006 by the EU. However, even though some of them have shown promising data, barrels are currently the most used technology for the oxidative stage of table wines aging.

Low-Molecular-Weight Phenols Recovery by Eco-Friendly Extraction from Quercus Spp. Wastes: An Analytical and Biomass-Sustainability Evaluation

In this work, chemical–physical protocols aimed at the implementation of eco-friendly and biomass-sustainable recovery processes of useful compounds from forestry and/or wood industry wastes were evaluated. Four species of interest in industrial and environmental fields (Quercus cerris, Quercus ilex, and Robinia pseudoacacia from Central Italy, Quercus petraea from France) were submitted to neutral extraction and analyzed by gaschromatography, with mass spectrometry identification of low-molecular-weight phenols. Moreover, Quercus petraea heartwood samples were submitted to three extraction/hydrolysis protocols in an alkaline environment, and the byproducts from the lignin degradation were identified and evaluated. The recovery of bioactive phenols from forestry wastes by applying eco-friendly extractive protocols may reveal a precious strategy for rethinking the management of such wastes, in line with the fundamentals of “circular economy”.

Use of Oak and Cherry Wood Chips during Alcoholic Fermentation and the Maturation Process of Rosé Wines: Impact on Phenolic Composition and Sensory Profile

There is a lack of knowledge about the use of different wood species on rosé wine production. Thus, this work focused on the impact of the addition of wood chips from oak and cherry trees during the alcoholic fermentation and maturation process on rosé wine characteristics. Therefore, phenolic composition and sensory characteristics were monitored during the rosé wines' production. The use of wood chips during alcoholic fermentation induced a significant increase of phenolic content in rosé musts. During rosé wine maturation, the wood chip contact induced significantly higher values of colored anthocyanins, color intensity, and polymeric pigments, and significantly lower values of color hue in the corresponding rosé wines. In terms of sensory profile, a tendency for lower scores of "overall appreciation" were attributed to control rosé wine, while significantly higher scores for "color intensity" descriptor were attributed to all rosé wines matured in contact with wood chips. For the majority of phenolic parameters and individual phenolic compounds quantified, a clear and specific influence of the use of oak and cherry wood chips was not detected, except for (+)-catechin, where the rosé wines produced in contact with cherry chips showed the highest values. This study provides relevant information for winemakers about the impact of the use of wood chips on rosé wine quality.

Acacia, cherry and oak wood chips used for a short aging period of rosé wines: effects on general phenolic parameters, volatile composition and sensory profile

BACKGROUND

There is a restricted knowledge about the potential impact of the use of different wood chip species on the rosé wine aging process. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the general phenolic parameters, aroma composition and sensory profile of rosé wines during a short maturation (20 aging days) in contact with wood chips from oak, acacia and cherry. In addition, the different wood chips were added to a rosé wine without a previous clarification process (unfined wine) and to a rosé wine submitted to a clarification process (fined wine).

RESULTS

For the brief maturation time considered, the use of different wood chips induced a tendency for an increase of phenolic content, in particular for unfined rosé wine aged in contact with acacia chips. For volatile composition, the differentiation was clearer for aldehyde compounds group. Regarding sensorial overall appreciation the panel test preferred the unfined rosé wine aged in contact with acacia wood chips.

CONCLUSIONS

The results show that, in general, the use of different wood chip species (acacia, cherry and oak) for a brief maturation time of rosé wines could play an important role in rosé wine characteristics, in particular in their phenolic composition. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

New Strategies to Improve Sensorial Quality of White Wines by Wood Contact

Ageing wine is a common practice used in winemaking, since the quality and sensory profile increase due to the extractable compounds coming from wood, by means of barrels or chips. The quantitative and qualitative compounds of the wood depend on the species, its origins and the treatments applied in cooperages. Traditionally, oak wood species are most often used in cooperage, specifically Quercus alba (Q. alba), Known as American oak and Quercus robur (Q. robur) and Quercus petraea (Q. petraea), both known as French oak. Although this stage is very common for red wines, its use is still restricted in the case of white wines. However, this topic is particularly interesting, since due to the sensorial benefits of wood contact, the option for ageing white wines in barrels or chips could be chosen by winemakers. This review compiles the novel strategies applied to white wines by means of wood contact in recent years with the aim to increase wine quality and sensorial features.