terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences 9 2ICGWS-2023 9 Physicochemical behaviour of wine spirit and wine distillate aged in Sherry Casks® and Brandy casks

Physicochemical behaviour of wine spirit and wine distillate aged in Sherry Casks® and Brandy casks

Abstract

Brandy is a spirit drink made from “wine spirit” (<86% Alcohol by Volume – ABV; high levels of congeners and they are mainly less volatile than ethanol), it may be blended with a “wine distillate” (<94.8%ABV; low levels of congeners and these are mainly more volatile than ethanol), as long as that distillate does not exceed a maximum of 50% of the alcoholic content of the finished product[1]. Brandy must be aged for at least 6 months in oak casks with <1000L of capacity. During ageing, changes occur in colour, flavour, and aroma that improve the quality of the original distillate. These changes are influenced by factors such as the ageing process itself, cask characteristics (botanical origin, volume, toasting degree, previous usage), and pre-treatments like the sherry wine-seasoning process (Sherry Cask®)[2]. In this work, the physicochemical behaviours of wine spirits and wine distillates aged in Sherry Casks® and Brandy casks have been compared.

Methods: “Wine spirit” obtained at 77%ABV and “wine distillate” at 94.6%ABV were diluted with demineralized water to 68%ABV for ageing in American oak casks, medium toast, 500L of capacity and seasoned by 18%ABV Oloroso Sherry wine for 3 years (Sherry Cask®) and “Brandy casks” were only used for ageing brandy for 3 years. It was carried out in duplicate, following a static ageing for 2 years. Oenological parameters, chromatic characteristics, and total polyphenol index (TPI) were carried out according to OIV methodology. Volatile substances were determined by GC-FID.

Results: A substantial difference was observed between the distillates aged in Sherry Cask® and Brandy cask in the parameters influenced by ageing. Aged in Sherry Cask® showed greater increase in TPI and colour. These 2 types of distillates, despite their different initial characteristics, and therefore, their levels of volatile substances, show a similar evolution in the trends of these compounds.

Acknowledgements: The authors wish to thank the University of Cadiz (Spain) and Bodegas Fundador, S.L.U. (Spain) for the industrial predoctoral contract granted to the author Daniel Butrón Benítez.

References:

1) Regulation (EU) 2019/787 European Parliament and Council of 17 April 2019. L130/1-49 (Parlamento europeo y consejo de la unión europea., 2019).

2) Mosedale, J. R., & Puech, J.-L. (1998). Wood maturation of distilled beverages. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 9(3) (1998) 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-2244(98)00024-7

DOI:

Publication date: October 18, 2023

Issue: ICGWS 2023

Type: Poster

Authors

Butrón-Benítez, Daniel1,2*; Valcárcel-Muñoz, Manuel J.2; García-Moreno, M. Valme1; Guillén-Sánchez, Dominico A.1

1 Departamento de Química Analítica, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto Universitario de Investigación Vitivinícola y Agroalimentaria (IVAGRO) Universidad de Cádiz, Campus Universitario de Puerto Real, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
2 Bodegas Fundador S.L.U., C/ San Ildefonso, nº 3, 11403, Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), Spain.

Contact the author*

Keywords

Brandy, wine spirit, wine distillate, ageing, Sherry Cask®

Tags

2ICGWS | ICGWS | ICGWS 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

The influence of pre-heatwave leaf removal on leaf physiology and berry development

Due to climate change, the occurrence of heatwaves and drought events is increasing, with significant impact on viticulture. Common ways to adapt viticulture to a changing climate include site selection, genotype selection, irrigation management and canopy management. The latter mentioned being for instance source-sink manipulations, such as leaf removal, with the aim to delay ripening.

Read More

High-throughput screening of physical-mechanical berry skin traits facilitates targeted selection of breeding material with resistance to Botrytis bunch rot and grape sunburn

The ongoing climate change implies an increasing mean air temperature, which is signified by weather extremes or sudden changes between drought and local heavy rainfalls. These changing conditions are especially challenging for the established grapevine varieties growing under cool climate conditions due to an increased risk for fungal diseases like downy mildew (DM) and Botrytis bunch rot (BBR) as well as for grape sunburn. To meet that demand, the scope of most grapevine breeding programs is the selection of mildew fungus-resistant and climatic adapted grapevines with balanced, healthy yield and outstanding wine quality.

Read More

INTEGRAPE guidelines and tools: an effort of COST Action CA17111

INTEGRAPE was a European interdisciplinary network for “data integration to maximize the power of omics for grapevine improvement” (CA17111, https://integrape.eu/), funded by the European COST Association from September 2018 to 2022. This Action successfully developed guidelines and tools for data management and promoted the best practices in grapevine omics studies with a holistic future vision of: “Imagine having all data on grapevine accessible in a single place”.

Read More

Qualitative and productive characterization of a minority variety: ‘Branco lexítimo’ in DO Ribeira Sacra (Spain)

The actual climate changes, together with the strong regulation of the European Union and Spanish government, in search of sustainable viticulture, have forced the recovery of minority varieties, expanding the range of grape varieties, as well as the possible development of wines with unique profiles. In the Ribeira Sacra DO (Spain), a comparative study of the agronomic and qualitative behavior of the ‘Branco lexítimo’ variety has been carried out, compared to the majority white variety in the DO: ‘Godello’, located in the same study plot, with identic soil and climatic conditions. The study contemplated the analysis of phenology and leaf water potential, as well as the productive results and the analysis of the must quality, during four seasons: 2018 – 2021.

Read More

Anthocyanin content and composition of Merlot grapes under temperature and late pruning conditions 

One of the main aspects of Climate Change is the increase of temperatures during summer and grape maturity period. Physiological processes are influenced by these high temperatures and result in grapes with higher sugar concentration, less acidity and less anthocyanin content among other quality changes. One strategy to deal with the climate change effects is the implementation of late winter pruning to alter the effect of high temperatures during key periods by delays in maturity time.

Read More