Search Results (5)

While studies on the co-fermentation of fruits and grapes are reported in the literature, blends of wine and fruit wine have never been investigated before. We characterised a blend (80:20 v/v) of Trebbiano Abruzzese white wine, organic kiwifruit wine, and the sparkling beverage obtained by its successive refermentation in a bottle. A persimmon/kiwifruit wine (50:50 v/v), after and before alcoholic fermentation, was also analysed. The buffer capacity, redox potential, concentration of selected polyphenols, total polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, and volatile profile were evaluated. The addition of kiwifruit wine to Trebbiano Abruzzese confers, to the final beverage, an appreciable improvement in terms of antioxidant activity, related to the content of polyphenols and ascorbic acid, which is substantially preserved in the sparkling product. Appreciable differences in the aroma of the blend compared to pure wine are mainly associated with the increased content of norisoprenoids, terpenes, methyl esters, and sulphur compounds, arising from the kiwifruit wine. The innovative beverages here proposed exhibit distinctive compositional and sensorial attributes that can be appreciated by consumers. Full article

Grape pomace is a common waste product that can be used as compost, as animal feed or discarded. The goal of this study was to evaluate the quality and consumers’ perception of a value-added grape pomace beverage, piquette, made using different red grape cultivars, yeast strains and grape pomace to water ratios. Petite Pearl and Marquette grape pomace were soaked using different pomace to water ratios in water for 2 days, prior to being pressed. Cane sugar was added to the juices prior to inoculation with three yeast strains (Cross Evolution, ICV D254, and Exotics Mosaic). The piquettes were bottled before chemical analysis and sensory evaluation by an untrained sensory panel following 8 months of storage. Piquettes made from Petite Pearl grape pomace, regardless of yeast strain, were preferred by consumers. Petite Pearl piquettes were fruity and pink, especially using D254 yeast. Piquettes made from different ratios of Petite Pearl pomace to water on a larger scale lacked nutrients at the beginning of fermentation, which led to “rotten-egg” aromas and were the least accepted by consumers. Full article

Moderate red wine intake has been associated with lower cardiovascular mortality, due in part to the intake of polyphenols and anthocyanins, whose content can vary from varietal and year of harvest. This study assessed the vascular effects in response to a single intake of 2015 and 2018 Zweigelt red wines from Hokkaido, Japan. Healthy men were randomly assigned to consume 240 mL each of a red wine, or a sparkling white grape juice as a control in a randomized three-arm cross-over design with a 7 day washout between arms. The augmentation index (AI; a measure of arterial stiffness) and AI at 75 beats/min (AI75), reactive hyperemia index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively), and platelet reactivity were assessed at baseline and two and four hours after each beverage intake. Changes from the baseline were analyzed using a linear mixed model. Significant treatment effects (p = 0.02) were observed, with AI 13% lower after the intake of the 2015 or 2018 vintages compared to the control. Intake of the 2018 vintage reduced SBP and DBP (−4.1 mmHg and −5.6 mmHg, respectively; p = 0.02) compared to the 2015 wine and the control drink. The amount of hydroxytyrosol in the 2018 wine was almost twice the amount as in the 2015 wine, which may help explain the variable blood pressure results. Future studies exploring the vascular effects of the same red wine from different vintage years and different phenolic profiles are warranted. Full article

The control of the composition of food products with protected designation of origin, such as wines and sparkling wines, is essential to prevent fraudulent practices and adulterations. A wide range of compounds can be used as tentative biomarkers for the characterization and authentication purposes, with elemental composition being one of the most successful sources of information, especially for dealing with geographical origin and varietal issues. Currently, Inductively Coupled Plasma with Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) are the techniques of choice to carry out multi-elemental analysis of these kinds of beverages in a rapid and simple way. In our study, samples from the different processing stages in the elaboration of sparkling wine (cava)—including must, base wine and sparkling wine—of Pinot Noir and Xarel·lo grape varieties have been analyzed by ICP techniques to determine the elemental composition. The resulting data have been used to classify these products according to oenological practices and product qualities. For this purpose, principal components analysis, box plot diagrams and bar charts have been used. Different markers and sample patterns have been found to deal with changes resulting from the different steps of the production process of cava wines. Results have revealed the relevance of some elements as descriptors of winemaking processes. For instance, Cu and K are abundant in must and their concentrations progressively decrease through the cava production process. S levels suddenly increase at the base wine step (and further decay) of the addition of sulphites as preserving species. Finally, concentrations of Na, Ca, Fe and Mg increase from the first fermentation due to the addition of clarifying agents such as bentonite. Full article

São Francisco Valley (SFV) is located in Northeastern Brazil, in a tropical semi-arid region where one vine can produce two harvests per year, due to high temperatures, solar radiation rates, and irrigation throughout the year. This is the main characteristic differing this from other winegrowing region in the world. The objective of this study was to characterize volatile profiles of sparkling wines produced by the traditional method, using Chenin Blanc and Syrah grapes, the two main varieties used for white and red wines, respectively, grown in the region. The sparkling wines remained on lees for six months maturing. The sparkling wines were characterized by the parameters density, pH, total titratable and volatile acidities, residual sugars, dry extract, alcohol content, total phenolic compounds, in vitro antioxidant activity and volatile fraction. The volatile fraction extraction was performed by the HS-SPME technique and tentative identification of the volatile compounds was carried out with GC-MS using the scan mode. A total of 33 volatile compounds were identified, among them 11 alcohols, 13 esters, five carboxylic acids, and four different chemical classes. The volatile profile of Chenin Blanc sparkling wine was associated mainly to 2,3-butanediol, 3-ethoxypropan-1-ol, diethyl succinate, and ethyl decanoate, while Syrah sparkling wine was characterized by benzaldehyde, butyric acid, and some acetates. This study reported for the first time volatile profiles of traditional sparkling wines from SFV, as new products, contributing to better understand the quality potential of these beverages for a tropical semi-arid region. Full article