Kinetics of polyphenol extraction from wood chips in wine model solutions: effect of chip amount and botanical species

Applying kinetic models to the study of the influence of wood contact surface area/volume ratio on the ageing of Brandy de Jerez

The present study investigates the influence of the casks' wood surface/volume ratio on the extraction processes that take place during the first stages of the production of Sherry Brandy. For this purpose, the ageing of a spirit at 60% alcoholic strength has been examined in casks of two different volumes: 500 L and 250 L, made from three different types of wood: Quercus alba (American oak), Quercus robur (French limousin oak) and Quercus petraea (Spanish oak), either previously seasoned or non-seasoned with Sherry wine. TPI, the sum of all the phenolic compounds analyzed (phenol extraction coefficient) and the variation in color compared to the initial distillate (CIEDE 2000) were evaluated in all the aged distillates. The casks with a higher surface/volume ratio produced brandies that generally presented higher values for all these parameters, with different increments depending on the type of oak wood. The seasoning of the casks reduced the contribution of phenolic compounds from the wood to the ageing spirit and resulted in brandies with a lighter color when aged in French and Spanish oak casks, but not when the American oak casks were used. Four kinetic models have been applied to better understand the evolution of these parameters during the ageing stage: Lagergren, Peleg, Intraparticle and parabolic diffusion. Peleg's model was the best fit in all the cases, which suggests that 2 types of mechanisms are involved in ageing: a rapid and a slow one. Regarding the diffusion models, the results were better fitted to the parabolic model, which suggests that during the ageing of the spirit a number of parallel reactions take place that affect the values actually reached by the parameters considered in our study. It was also observed that higher wood surface/volume ratios resulted in higher values of phenolic compounds in the distillates, but did not represent a significant factor in relation to the color of the final distillates. The sensory analysis of the samples aged for 16 months demonstrated that only the wine spirits aged in French oak wood presented significant differences depending on the size of the cask; however, all the brandies were registered significant differences associated to the seasoning of the casks.

Ultrasound-assisted production of alcoholic beverages: From fermentation and sterilization to extraction and aging

Ultrasound is sound waves above 20 kHz that can be used as a nonthermal ''green'' technology for agri-food processing. It has a cavitation effect, causing bubbles to form and collapse rapidly as they travel through the medium during ultrasonication. Therefore, it inactivates microorganisms and enzymes through cell membrane disruption with physicochemical and sterilization effects on foods or beverages. This emerging technology has been explored in wineries to improve wine color, taste, aroma, and phenolic profile. This paper aims to comprehensively review the research on ultrasound applications in the winery and alcoholic beverages industry, discuss the impacts of this process on the physicochemical properties of liquors, the benefits involved, and the research needed in this area. Studies have shown that ultrasonic technology enhances wine maturation, improves wine fermentation, accelerates wine aging, and deactivates microbes while enhancing quality, as observed with better critical aging markers such as phenolic compounds and color intensity. Besides, ultrasound enhances phytochemical, physicochemical, biological, and organoleptic properties of alcoholic beverages. For example, this technology increased anthocyanin in red wine by 50%. It also enhanced the production rate by decreasing the aging time by more than 90%. Ultrasound can be considered an economically viable technology that may contribute to wineries' waste valorization, resource efficiency improvement, and industry profit enhancement. Despite numerous publications and successful industrial applications discussed in this paper, ultrasound up-scaling and applications for other types of liquors need further efforts.

A Theoretical Approximation of the Accelerating Effects of Ultrasound about the Extraction of Phenolic Compounds from Wood by Wine Spirits

The acceleration on the extraction by the sonication of phenolic compounds (measured as the Total Phenolic Index) from wood chips by wine distillates is studied in the present paper. Using the Arrhenius equation, the theoretical temperature at which the kinetics obtained by these sonicated extraction processes are equal to the kinetics of non-sonicated and thermally accelerated extractions, was calculated. By applying a pseudo-second order kinetic model, it was shown that the initial rate values obtained from the sonicated extractions were as high as those obtained from the thermal extractions carried out at a temperature at least 2.5 °C higher than the real temperature at which the experiment was performed. Higher power densities lead to higher initial rates of extraction, although very high power densities decrease the amount of phenols in equilibrium, probably due to the degradation processes. Additionally, the positive synergy between the sonication and the movement of the recirculated distillate through wood chips was also stablished, obtaining a difference of temperature of at least,18.2 °C for the initial extraction rate and 7.0 °C for the equilibrium.

Different Woods in Cooperage for Oenology: A Review

Contact of wine with wood during fermentation and ageing produces significant changes in its chemical composition and organoleptic properties, modifying its final quality. Wines acquire complex aromas from the wood, improve their colour stability, flavour, and clarification, and extend their storage period. New trends in the use of barrels, replaced after a few years of use, have led to an increased demand for oak wood in cooperage. In addition, the fact that the wine market is becoming increasingly saturated and more competitive means that oenologists are increasingly interested in tasting different types of wood to obtain wines that differ from those already on the market. This growing demand and the search for new opportunities to give wines a special personality has led to the use of woods within the Quercus genus that are different from those used traditionally (Quercus alba, Quercus petraea, and Quercus robur) and even woods of different genera. Thus, species of the genus Quercus, such as Quercus pyrenaica Willd., Quercus faginea Lam., Quercus humboldtti Bonpl., Quercus oocarpa Liebm., Quercus frainetto Ten, and other genera, such as Robinia pseudoacacia L. (false acacia), Castanea sativa Mill. (chestnut), Prunus avium L. and Prunus cereaus L. (cherry), Fraxinus excelsior L. (European ash), Fraxinus americana L. (American ash), Morus nigra L, and Morus alba L. have been the subject of several studies as possible sources of wood apt for cooperage. The chemical characterization of these woods is essential in order to be able to adapt the cooperage treatment and, thus, obtain wood with oenological qualities suitable for the treatment of wines. This review aims to summarize the different species that have been studied as possible new sources of wood for oenology, defining the extractable composition of each one and their use in wine.

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.