Wine shaking during transportation: influence on the analytical and sensory parameters of wine

Abstract

According to OIV reports, annual world wine consumption fluctuated around 240-245 mln hL over the past decade. The general market globalization has led to the situation when almost half of the consumed wine is exported to other countries. Of this volume, more than 60 mln hL are bottled still and sparkling wines.

Transportation of bottled wine involves temperature changes, shaking and vibrations. The impact of the two last factors on the wine quality is currently not well understood. Some experts consider wine to be a robust product that easily withstands such mechanical stress. Other wine professionals argue that transportation may affect the wine quality, especially of high price segment products. Moreover, there is a common belief that wine needs a few days of “rest” after transportation before its consumption.

In this study, we summarized the current knowledge about the impact of transportation on wine parameters. In addition, we conducted our experiment with rosé wines, which were subjected to transportation simulations. We used young and aged Pinot Noir wines to compare their sensitivity to mechanical stress. Wine bottles were placed horizontally in cartons and shaken periodically (2 hours per day) for 2 and 7 weeks. Then the wines were analyzed and compared to non-shaken control samples.

As a result of the experiment, differences were found in the following basic wine parameters between shaken and control samples: oxygen content in the bottle’s headspace; free SO2 level (after 2 weeks). The examination of wine aroma composition included the analysis of varietal (terpenes, C13-norisoprenoids) and fermentation aromas (esters, higher alcohols and acids), as well as low molecular weight sulfur compounds (H2S, MeSH, EtSH, etc). Only some of the studied compounds differed between the shaken and control wine samples. These variations did not considerably impact the overall perception of wine aromas. Thus, sensory analysis did not reveal significant differences between the shaken and control wines in triangle tests.

Another aspect of this work is related to the development of a physical model, which can evaluate the total energy transferred to a wine bottle during transportation. This concept can assist the wine industry as well as further research, as more studies are needed on the behavior of various wines during transportation. Thus, this model can be used to explain and compare the results of different experiments.