Macrowine 2021
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Impact of industrial-scale serial filtration on macromolecules in red wines

Impact of industrial-scale serial filtration on macromolecules in red wines

Abstract

Filtration is a critical step in ensuring the clarity and microbial stability of wine prior to bottling. However the process of filtering potentially reduces red wine quality by removing some of the macromolecules that contribute to the texture of the wine. Commercial red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon (CAS) and Shiraz (SHZ), of two vintages and two grades (premium grade wines from the older vintage: CAS13 and SHZ13; and standard grade wines from a younger vintage: CAS14 and SHZ14) were filtered through industrial-scale commercial filtration units prior to bottling. Samples were taken before and after cross-flow filtration, lenticular filters, 0.65 µm and 0.45 µm pore size nylon membrane filters. The concentration and composition of macromolecules, including tannins and polysaccharides, were measured in all samples as well as particle size distribution and wine colour. Tannin concentration was measured using the methyl-cellulose precipitation assay and colours were measured with the modified Somer’s colour assay. Tannins were isolated from wines using solid-phase extraction with Oasis HLB cartridges and subsequently analysed for molecular weight and subunit composition with size-exclusion chromatography and phloroglucinolysis (acid-catalysed cleavage reactions), respectively. Polysaccharides were isolated from wine with ethanol precipitation and were subsequently dialysed and analysed using size-exclusion chromatography. The composition of the wines varied with age and variety. Both CAS wines contained more tannin and fewer polysaccharides than the SHZ wines, while both older premium wines (CAS13 and SHZ13) demonstrated more tannin and fewer polysaccharides than the younger, standard grade wines. Cross-flow filtration removed the greatest number of particles from the wine, with all other levels of finer filtration inducing no significant effect on macromolecule concentration or composition. These results suggest that sterile filtration of commercial red wines is unlikely to cause deleterious effects on wine quality.

Publication date: May 17, 2024

Issue: Macrowine 2016

Type: Poster

Authors

Jacqui McRae*, Agnieszka Mierczynska-Vasile, Alison Soden, Martin Day, Paul Smith

*Australian Wine Research Institute

Contact the author

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Macrowine | Macrowine 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Capture depletion of grapevine DNA: an approach to advance the study of microbial community in wine

The use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has helped understand microbial genetics in oenology. Current studies mainly focus on barcoded amplicon NGS but not shotgun sequencing, which is useful for functional analyses. Since the high percentage of grapevine DNA conceals the microbial DNA in must, the majority of sequencing data is wasted in bioinformatic analyses. Here we present capture depletion of grapevine whole genome DNA.

Moscatel vine-shoot extracts as grapevine biostimulant to increase the varietal aroma of Airén wines

There is a growing interest in the exploitation of vine-shoots waste, since they are often left or burned. Sánchez-Gómez et al. [1] have shown that vines-shoots aqueous extracts have significant contents of bioactive compounds, among which several polyphenols and volatiles are highlighted. Recent studied had demonstrated that the chemical composition of vine-shoots is enhanced when vine-shoots are toasted
[2,3]. The application of vegetable products in the vineyards has led to significant changes towards a more “Sustainable Viticulture”. An innovative foliar application for Airén vine-shoot extracts have been carried out to the vineyard. It has been shown that they act as grape biostimulants, improving certain wine quality characteristics [4].

Testing the effectiveness of Cell-Wall material from grape pomace as fining agent for red wines

Lately several works highlighted the capacity of grape cell-wall material (CWM) to interact with proanthocyanidins (PA), indicating its potential use as fining agent for red wines.1–4 However, those studies were performed by using purified PAs and very high doses of CWM (almost ten-fold higher than those used in wine industry for other commercial fining agents). The present study focuses on the applicability of CWM from Cabernet sauvignon pomace as fining agent for red wines under real winery conditions. Grapes of cultivar Cabernet sauvignon were harvested at three different maturity levels
(unripe, mature, and overripe) and used for red winemaking. The pomace of such vinifications were used as source of CWM, and applied into red wines at two different concentrations: 0.2 g/L and 2.5 g/L.

Characterization of Glycosidically Bound Aroma Compounds of País cv. grapes of different Chilean zones

País grape has been estimated to arrive to Chile almost 500 years ago, being the first strain grown in this country. Traditionally, this grape has been used to mix with other varieties, to produce poor quality wines, but today is beginning to be used in the production of high quality wines. However, very little is known about the chemical characteristics of this variety. The aroma is one of the most important quality attributes of wine. Volatile compounds of this beverage may come from the grape (varietal aromas), from the fermentation process, from the ageing. The aromatic compounds are found in the grape in two forms: as free volatile compounds and as non-volatile compounds. The last ones, are aroma precursors present mainly as glycoconjugates formed by a sugar and an aglycone…

Non-invasive headspace sorptive extraction for monitoring volatile compounds production by saccharomyces and non-saccharomyces strains throughout alcoholic fermentation

Wine is a solution containing abundant volatile compounds which contribute to their aroma. Many of them are produced by yeast as metabolism by-products. Different yeast strains produce different volatile profiles. The possibility of studying the evolution of volatile compounds during fermentation, using sampling methods that not alter the volume of fermentation media, is of great interest. In spite of this, non-invasive methods to monitoring the evolution of volatile profile during fermentation have been seldom used. The goals of this work were to use by first time the headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE) as non-invasive method to monitor the evolution of volatile profiles throughout alcoholic fermentation and to study the changes on volatile profiles produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lachancea thermotolerans during fermentation of a must with high sugar content.