High Hydrostatic Pressure Pasteurization of Red Wine

Enhancing wine shelf-life: Insights into factors influencing oxidation and preservation

Background

Understanding the shelf life of wine is complex and involves factors such as aroma preservation, flavour development and market acceptance. Ageing potential, crucial for flavour complexity, exposes wine to oxidation, influenced by oxygen, temperature and light, with an impact on quality. This type of oxidation is non-enzymatic, is catalyzed by metal ions and alters colour and flavour.

Scope and approach

This review examines the dynamics of wine preservation, focusing on oxidation and the impact of closure. Corks allow controlled oxygen transfer, while screw caps offer a nearly hermetic closure. Oxygen transfer rates vary, with natural corks having fluctuating rates and synthetic corks causing over-exposure. Additives such as sulphur dioxide and alternative substitute such as lysozyme and ascorbic acid are examined for their role in preventing oxidation and ensuring microbiological stability.

Key findings and conclusions

Closure choice significantly affects wine preservation. Balancing oxygen exposure, temperature, and light is vital. Effective management, including the strategic use of preservatives and additives, is crucial for maintaining quality and extending shelf life. This review underscores the delicate equilibrium necessary for preserving wine quality from production to consumption.

The Application of Non-Thermal Technologies for Wine Processing, Preservation, and Quality Enhancement

Recently, non-thermal wine processing technologies have been proposed as alternatives to conventional winemaking processes, mostly with the aims to improve wine quality, safety, and shelf-life. Winemakers typically rely on sulfites (SO2) to prevent wine oxidation and microbial spoilage, as these processes can negatively affect wine quality and aging potential. However, SO2 can trigger allergic reactions, asthma, and headaches in sensitive consumers, so limitations on their use are needed. In red winemaking, prolonged maceration on skins is required to extract enough phenolic compounds from the wine, which is time-consuming. Consequently, the wine industry is looking for new ways to lower SO2 levels, shorten maceration times, and extend shelf life while retaining wine quality. This review aggregates the information about the novel processing techniques proposed for winemaking, such as high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, microwave, and irradiation. In general, non-thermal processing techniques have been shown to lead to improvements in wine color characteristics (phenolic and anthocyanin content), wine stability, and wine sensory properties while reducing the need for SO2 additions, shortening the maceration time, and lowering the microbial load, thereby improving the overall quality, safety, and shelf life of the wines.

Optimization of Gamma Aminobutyric Acid Production Using High Pressure Processing (HPP) by Lactobacillus brevis PML1

In the present research, the production potential of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) using Lactobacillus brevis PML1 was investigated. In addition, the microorganism viability was examined in MAN, ROGOSA, and SHARPE (MRS) after undergoing high hydrostatic pressure at 100, 200, and 300 MPa for 5, 10, and 15 min. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the production conditions of GABA as well as the bacteria viability. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that both the independent variables (pressure and time) significantly influenced the dependent ones (GABA and bacteria viability) ( $P<0.05$ ). The optimum extraction conditions to maximize the production of GABA included the pressure of 300 MPa and the time of 15 min. The amount of the compound was quantified using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and spectrophotometry. For the process optimization, a central composite design (CCD) was created using Design Expert with 5 replications at the center point, whereby the highest content of GABA was obtained to be 397.73 ppm which was confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was utilized to observe the morphological changes in the microorganism. The results revealed that not only did have Lactobacillus brevis PML1 the potential for the production of GABA under conventional conditions (control sample) but also the content of this bioactive compound could be elevated by optimizing the production parameters.

Non-Thermal High Pressure Processing, Pulsed Electric Fields and Ultrasound Preservation of Five Different Table Wines

Wine preservation by alternative non-thermal and physical methods including high pressure processing (HPP), pulsed electric fields (PEF) and power ultrasound (US) technologies was investigated. The effect of these technologies on some quality parameters of five table wines was determined directly after processing and two months storage. For each wine, the pH, colour density, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity quality parameters were determined and the different treatments were compared. The pH of the untreated and treated wines generally remained unchanged after processing and storage. The antioxidant activity of the wines decreased after processing and storage. Generally, non-thermal processing did not affect the wine quality parameters during the 2 months storage. Overall, this study demonstrated that HPP had the smallest effect on the quality parameters assessed in five different wines.

Emerging Non-Thermal Technologies as Alternative to SO2 for the Production of Wine

SO₂ is an antioxidant and selective antimicrobial additive, inhibiting the growth of molds in the must during the early stages of wine production, as well as undesirable bacteria and yeasts during fermentation, thus avoiding microbial spoilage during wine production and storage. The addition of SO₂ is regulated to a maximum of 150–350 ppm, as this chemical preservative can cause adverse effects in consumers such as allergic reactions. Therefore, the wine industry is interested in finding alternative strategies to reduce SO₂ levels, while maintaining wine quality. The use of non-thermal or cold pasteurization technologies for wine preservation was reviewed. The effect of pulsed electric fields (PEF), high pressure processing (HPP), power ultrasound (US), ultraviolet irradiation (UV), high pressure homogenization (HPH), filtration and low electric current (LEC) on wine quality and microbial inactivation was explored and the technologies were compared. PEF and HPP proved to be effective wine pasteurization technologies as they inactivate key wine spoilage yeasts, including Brettanomyces, and bacteria in short periods of time, while retaining the characteristic flavor and aroma of the wine produced. PEF is a promising technology for the beverage industry as it is a continuous process, requiring only microseconds of processing time for the inactivation of undesirable microbes in wines, with commercial scale, higher throughput production potential.

Use of UHPH to Obtain Juices With Better Nutritional Quality and Healthier Wines With Low Levels of SO2

Ultra-high pressure homogenization (UHPH) is a high pressure technique in which a fluid is pressurized by pumping at higher than 200 MPa and instantaneously depressurized at atmospheric pressure across a special valve. The full process takes <0.2 s and the in-valve time is <0.02 s. In the valve, extremely intense impacts and shear forces produce the nanofragmentation of biological tissue at a range of 100-300 nm. The antimicrobial effect is highly effective, reaching easily inactivation levels higher than 6-log cycles even at low in-valve temperatures. At in-valve temperatures of 140-150°C (0.02 s) the destruction of thermoresistant spores is possible. Even when the temperature in-valve can be elevated (70-150°C), it can be considered a gentle technology because of the tremendously short processing time. It is easy to get outlet temperatures after valve of 20-25°C by the expansion and assisted by heat exchangers. Thermal markers as hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are not formed, nor are deleterious effects observed in sensitive compounds as terpenes or anthocyanins, probably because of the low effect in covalent bonds of small molecules of the high-pressure techniques compared with thermal technologies. Additionally, intense inactivation of oxidative enzymes is observed, therefore protecting the sensory and nutritional quality of fruit juices and avoiding or reducing the use of antioxidants as sulphites. UHPH can be consider a powerful and highly effective continuous and sterilizing technology without thermal repercussions, able to keep fresh juices with most of their initial sensory and nutritional quality and allowing high-quality and natural fermented derivatives as wine.

Phenolic and Aroma Changes of Red and White Wines during Aging Induced by High Hydrostatic Pressure

The aim of this study was to investigate use of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) along with different antioxidants (glutathione and SO2) as an alternative method for wine preservation and production of low-SO2 wines. In the first phase of the study, low-SO2, young red and white wines were pressurized at three pressure levels (200, 400 and 600 MPa) for 5, 15 and 25 min at room temperature, and analyzed immediately after treatments. Additionally, for the wine aging experiment, red and white wines with standard-SO2, low-SO2+glutathione and low-SO2 content were treated with HHP treatment (200 MPa/5 min) and stored for 12 months in bottles. Color parameters, phenolic and aroma compounds were determined. The sensory evaluation was also conducted. HHP showed very slight, but statistically significant changes in the chemical composition of both red and white wine right after the treatment, and the main variations observed were related to the different pressures applied. Furthermore, during aging, most of the differences observed in chemical composition of pressurized wines, both red and white, were statistically significant, and greater in wines with a lower content of antioxidants. However, after 12 months of aging, some differences between unpressurized and pressurized samples with standard SO2 content were lost, primarily in aroma compounds for red wine and in color and phenolics for white wine. Additionally, similar values were obtained for mentioned characteristics of red and white wines in pressurized samples with standard SO2 and low SO2+glutathione, indicating that HHP in combination with glutathione and lower doses of SO2 might potentially preserve wine. The sensory analysis confirmed less pronounced changes in the sensory attributes of pressurized wines with higher concentration of antioxidants. Furthermore, the treatments applied had a slightly higher effect on the sensory properties of white wine.

Potential Applications of High Pressure Homogenization in Winemaking: A Review

High pressure homogenization (HPH) is an emerging technology with several possible applications in the food sector, such as nanoemulsion preparation, microbial and enzymatic inactivation, cell disruption for the extraction of intracellular components, as well as modification of food biopolymer structures to steer their functionalities. All these effects are attributable to the intense mechanical stresses, such as cavitation and shear forces, suffered by the product during the passage through the homogenization valve. The exploitation of the disruptive forces delivered during HPH was also recently proposed for winemaking applications. In this review, after a general description of HPH and its main applications in food processing, the survey is extended to the use of this technology for the production of wine and fermented beverages, particularly focusing on the effects of HPH on the inactivation of wine microorganisms and the induction of yeast autolysis. Further enological applications of HPH technology, such as its use for the production of inactive dry yeast preparations, are also discussed.

Alternative Methods to SO2 for Microbiological Stabilization of Wine

The use of sulfur dioxide (SO₂ ) as wine additive is able to ensure both antioxidant protection and microbiological stability. In spite of these undeniable advantages, in the last two decades the presence of SO₂ in wine has raised concerns about potential adverse clinical effects in sensitive individuals. The winemaking industry has followed the general trend towards the reduction of SO₂ concentrations in food, by expressing at the same time the need for alternative control methods allowing reduction or even elimination of SO_2. In the light of this, research has been strongly oriented toward the study of alternatives to the use of SO₂ in wine. Most of the studies have focused on methods able to replace the antimicrobial activity of SO₂ . This review article gives a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art about the chemical additives and the innovative physical techniques that have been proposed for this purpose. After a focus on the chemistry and properties of SO₂ in wine_, as well as on wine spoilage and on the conventional methods used for the microbiological stabilization of wine, recent advances on alternative methods proposed to replace the antimicrobial activity of SO₂ in winemaking are presented and discussed. Even though many of the alternatives to SO₂ showed good efficacy, nowadays no other physical technique or additive can deliver the efficacy and broad spectrum of action as SO₂ (both antioxidant and antimicrobial), therefore the alternative methods should be considered a complement to SO₂ in low-sulfite winemaking, rather than being seen as its substitutes.

Pulsed electric field (PEF) technology for microbial inactivation in low-alcohol red wine

The decontamination of spoilage-related microbes in low-alcohol red wine was performed using a serial multiple electrode pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment system. The system consisted of seven electrodes connected in series, and it has been designed to produce square-wave high-voltage pulses of 1 μs duration at various electric field strengths and frequencies for decontamination. The initial counts of aerobic bacteria, yeast and lactic acid bacteria (spoilage-associated microbes) in the wine were 5.56, 5.61 and 5.22 log CFU/mL, respectively. The pattern of decontamination of the spoilage microorganisms followed first-order kinetics and the decontamination effect increased as the field strength and frequency increases. DHz and DPEF values were inversely related to the electric field strength of the PEF treatment. The yeast exhibited relatively low DPEF-value than the aerobic and lactic acid bacteria. The lowest ZPEF-value was observed for the lactic acid bacteria (24.6 kV/cm) among the spoilage microbes.

Influence of High Hydrostatic Pressure Technology on Wine Chemical and Sensorial Characteristics: Potentialities and Drawbacks

During last years, scientific research on high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) as a nonthermal processing technology for preservation or aging of wine has increased substantially. HHP between 200 and 500MPa is able to inactivate bacteria and yeasts in red and white wines, suggesting that it may be used for wine preservation. However, these treatments have been shown to promote changes on sensorial and physicochemical characteristics in both red and white wines, not immediately in the first month, but along storage. The changes are observed in wine color, aroma, and taste due mainly to reactions of phenolic compounds, sugars, and proteins. These reactions have been associated with those observed during wine aging, leading to aged-like wine characteristics perceived by sensorial analysis. This chapter will present the influence of HHP technology on wine chemical and sensorial characteristics, criticaly discussing its potentialities and drawbacks. The appropriate use of HHP, based on the scientific knowledge of the reactions occuring in wine promoted by HHP, will allow to exploit this technology for wine production achieving distinct characteristics to address particular market and consumer demands.

Oenological and Quality Characteristic on Young White Wines (Sauvignon Blanc): Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure Processing

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) has shown to have an effect of enhancing some properties without detrimental effects on important quality characteristics, such as colour, pH, and turbidity. This suggests that this technique can be used as an alternative to the existing methods used in wine industry processing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of HHP on aroma compounds and also sensory and quality properties of young white wine. HHP treatment did not influence physicochemical parameters, total phenols, and flavonoid contents of white wine; however, the results from analysis of wine indicate that there was a great variation in the concentration of free and total sulphur dioxide (SO2) values and antioxidant capacity of white wine after HHP application. The sensory attributes, such as taste, odour, and overall quality, were not affected by HHP processing at 300 MPa. The chromatic characteristics changed slightly after applying HHP, but these changes could not be visually perceived because they were less than 5%. The use of this technique has the potential to decrease the amount of SO2 added to raw grapes thus maintaining the same properties found in untreated wine. This study provided valuable insights into the biochemical and sensory composition of commercial white wine and how this might change during HHP processing.

High pressure inactivation of Brettanomyces bruxellensis in red wine

Brettanomyces bruxellensis ("Brett") is a major spoilage concern for the wine industry worldwide, leading to undesirable sensory properties. Sulphur dioxide, is currently the preferred method for wine preservation. However, due to its negative effects on consumers, the use of new alternative non-thermal technologies are increasingly being investigated. The aim of this study was to determine and model the effect of high pressure processing (HPP) conditions and yeast strain on the inactivation of "Brett" in Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Processing at 200 MPa for 3 min resulted in 5.8 log reductions. However higher pressure is recommended to achieve high throughput in the wine industry, for example >6.0 log reductions were achieved after 400 MPa for 5 s. The inactivation of B. bruxellensis is pressure and time dependent, with increased treatment time and pressure leading to increased yeast inactivation. It was also found that yeast strain had a significant effect on HPP inactivation, with AWRI 1499 being the most resistant strain. The Weibull model successfully described the HPP "Brett" inactivation. HPP is a viable alternative for the inactivation of B. bruxellensis in wine, with the potential to reduce the industry's reliance on sulphur dioxide.

Use of Pressure for Improving Storage Quality of Fresh-Cut Produce

The microflora of fresh-cut produce is comprised primarily of phytopathogenic and soilborne organisms, but the product could be contaminated with foodborne pathogens. Populations of bacteria, molds, and yeasts associated with fresh-cut produce decreased to non-detectable levels following a high pressure (HP) treatment of 400 MPa for 10 min at room temperature, except for spore-forming bacteria such as Bacillus spp. which were inactivated when subjected to 600 MPa at 60 °C for 10 min. The HP treatment of 400 MPa for 5-10 min at room temperature for fresh-cut lotus root and pineapple may be commercially feasible as an alternative to chemical sterilization and thermal blanching, respectively. The HP treatment reduced the epiphytic microorganisms of the products to non-detectable levels, and the microbial counts remained at the initial levels during storage at 1 °C with minimal changes in physicochemical and visual quality of the products. However, the HP treatment induced cellular disruption in plant tissue that contributed to the changes in appearance of several fresh-cut vegetables. To improve storage quality, combining lower pressures with complementary technologies should be useful for successful application of HP for other fresh-cut produce.

Enhanced deacidification activity in Schizosaccharomyces pombe by genome shuffling

A problem frequently occurring in making some kinds of wines, particularly Vitis quinquangularis Rehd wine, is the presence of malic acid at high concentrations, which is detrimental to the quality of wines. Thus, there is a need of the ways for effectively reducing the malic acid levels in wine. This study aimed to generate shuffled fusants of Schizosaccharomyces pombe with enhanced deacidification activity for reducing the excessive malic acid content in wine. Sz. pombe CGMCC 2.1628 was used as the original strain. The starting mutant population was generated by UV treatment. The mutants with higher deacidification activity were selected and subjected to recursive protoplast fusion. The resulting fusants were screened by using the indicator of malic acid concentration of fermentation supernatants on 96-well microtitre plates, measured with bromocresol green. After three rounds of genome shuffling, the best-performing fusant, named GS3-1, was obtained. Its deacidification activity (consumed 4.78 g/l malic acid within 10 days) was increased by 225.2% as compared to that of original strain. In the Vitis quinquangularis Rehd wine fermentation test, GS3-1 consumed 4.0 g/l malic acid during the whole cycle of fermentation, providing up to 185.7% improvement in malic acid consumption compared with that of the original strain. This study shows that GS3-1 has great potential for improving the quality of Vitis quinquangularis Rehd wine.

Effect of high pressure treatments on the physicochemical properties of a sulphur dioxide-free red wine

The application of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) in winemaking for substitution of the use of sulphur dioxide is still at a very early stage of development, since knowledge about the effect on physicochemical and sensorial characteristics of the wine during storage is very scarce. In this work, the evolution of colour, antioxidant activity and total phenolic compounds of SO2-free red wines treated by HHP and aged in bottles was followed for 12 months. The pressurised wines were compared with wine samples prepared with addition of 40 ppm of SO2 and without any of these two treatments. After 12 months, the pressurised wines presented higher values of CIELab parameters (a(*), b(*), and L(*)) and a lower monomeric anthocyanin content (45-61%) when compared to the unpressurised ones. The pressurised wines showed also a better global sensorial assessment, with the pressure treatments imparting aged-like characteristics to the wines. The wine deposits of pressurised wines had higher total phenolic content, namely proanthocyanidins (3- to 10-fold). The results demonstrate that HHP can influence long term red wine physicochemical and sensorial characteristics, hypothesised to be due to an increase of condensation reactions of phenolic compounds, forming compounds with higher degree of polymerisation that became insoluble in wine along storage.

Effects of long-term chilling on ultrastructure and antioxidant activity in leaves of two cucumber cultivars under low light

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cv. Xintaimici (a chilling-resistant cultivar) and cv. Jinyan no. 4 (a chilling-sensitive cultivar) were subjected to two temperatures (15/15 and 25/18 degrees C) under low light (100 mumol m(-2) s(-1)) to understand the relationship between ultrastructural changes and the antioxidant abilities caused by low temperature (15/15 degrees C). We also aimed to find indicators for chilling resistance that could be used on a routine basis in breeding programs of greenhouse crops. At the 15/15 degrees C treatment, the membranes of chloroplast, mitochondrion, ER and plasma were not significantly changed in Xintaimici, whereas they were seriously affected in Jinyan no. 4. This result was consistent with the changes of malonaldehyde in chilling-stressed cucumber leaves. The antioxidant activities were changed under low temperature according to cultivar-expected resistance, relating in part to the described ultrastructural changes. The activities of superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1) and guaiacol peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) increased in chilling-stressed leaves of both cultivars, but the two enzymes were not responsible for the difference between cucumber cultivars. At 15/15 degrees C, contents of GSH and activities of glutathione reductase (GR, EC 1.6.4.2) increased more in leaves of Xintaimici than in those of Jinyan no. 4, while catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6) activities decreased less. GSH, GR and CAT were affected by low temperature and cultivars and correlated with the difference in ultrastructure between chilling-stressed cucumber cultivars. We propose that the three antioxidants might be therefore used as biochemical indicators to screen chilling-resistant cucumber cultivars.