Macrowine 2021
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Use of glutathione under different grape processing and winemaking conditions and its impact on the formation of sulfide off-flavors, colour, and sensory characteristics of Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, and Chardonnay

Use of glutathione under different grape processing and winemaking conditions and its impact on the formation of sulfide off-flavors, colour, and sensory characteristics of Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, and Chardonnay

Abstract

The use of glutathione (GSH) in winemaking has been legitimated recently, according to OIV resolutions OENO 445-2015 and OENO 446-2015 a maximum dose of 20 mg/L is now allowed to use in must and wine. Several studies have proven the benefits of GSH, predominantly in Sauvignon blanc. Thus, oxidative coloration of must and wine is limited, aroma compounds such as volatile thiols are preserved, and the development of ageing flavors such as sotolon and 2-aminoacetophenone is impeded. The protective effect may be explained by the high affinity of GSH to bind o-quinones which are formed during phenolic oxidation and which are known to initiate browning and other oxidative changes. Some researchers have proposed the hydroxycinnamic acid to GSH ratio (HGR) as an indicator of oxidation susceptibility of must and could show that lower ratios yielded lighter musts. In contrast to the advantages of GSH, other researchers found that GSH can foster the formation of H2S and other sulfide off-flavors during fermentation. Even during bottle aging, reductive odors may occur as a late consequence of high GSH levels during winemaking. In order to examine the impact of GSH on the formation of sulfide off-flavors, colour, and sensory characteristics, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, and Chardonnay grapes were processed under different conditions to obtain musts with high and low phenolic content. Based on the original GSH concentration the HGR was adjusted using GSH or GSH-enriched IDY. The resulting wines were either racked off the lees or submitted to sur lie aging for 4 months. As already observed by others, GSH additions increased the GRP concentration in must and preserved their green color. At the same time, these musts tended to form higher concentrations of H2S, methyl and ethyl mercaptan during fermentation suggesting that excessive GSH is responsible for the production of volatile mercaptan metabolites. Normally, these compounds were degraded at the end of fermentation and dropped below sensory threshold as soon as the wines were racked off the gross lees. However, the decrease in mercaptan content, partly explained by the oxidative formation of disulfides, was strongly impaired when o-diphenols were low in concentration (e.g. in free run juice) or when musts were treated with ascorbic acid and SO2. This observation suggests that an effective mercaptan deodorization in young wines depends on the oxidizability of o-diphenols. Bottled wines were generally lower in GSH than musts. However, elevated levels of GSH could be determined after sur lie aging, possibly explaining the protection against oxidation in this aging regime. Sensory analysis after bottling revealed that the fruity odor of Riesling and Sauvignon blanc wines was enhanced when GSH was added to must in moderate concentrations. Excessive GSH, especially in musts with a low phenolic content (e.g. from whole-cluster pressing), could lead to sensorially noticeable sulfide off-flavor in the later wines.

Publication date: May 17, 2024

Issue: Macrowine 2016

Type: Poster

Authors

Dominik Durner*, Hans-Georg Schmarr, Pascal Wegmann-Herr, Sebastian Ullrich, Ulrich Fischer

*DLR Rheinpfalz

Contact the author

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Macrowine | Macrowine 2016

Citation

Related articles…

Novel contribution to the study of mouth-feel properties in wines

In general, there is a well-established lexicon related to wine aroma and taste properties; however mouth-feel-related vocabulary usually includes heterogeneous, multimodal and personalized terms. Gawel et al.
(2000) published a wheel related to mouthfeel properties of red wine. However, its use in scientific publications has been limited. The authors accepted that the approach had certain limitations as it included redundant and terms with hedonic tone and some others were absent. It is of high interest to generate a mouth-feel lexicon and finding the chemical compound or group of compounds responsible for such properties in red wine. In the present work a chemical fractionation method has been developed.

Fingerprinting the origin of rosé wines with a new high throughput polyphenomics method

Wine is a widely consumed alcoholic beverage with a high commercial value. More specifically, the worldwide consumption of rosé wine has increased by 20% since 2002[1]. But because of its high commercial value, it can become a subject of fraud, and authenticity control is necessarily required. More than one hundred polyphenols have been recently quantified in various rosé wines [2]. They are key components defining color, taste and quality of wines. Their amount and composition depend on many different factors such as grape variety, winemaking and age of the wine. In this study, the influence of geographic origin of some rosé French wines was investigated. An original and very fast UPLC-QTOF-MS method was developed and used to predict the geographic origin authenticity of rosé wines.

Use of computational modelling for selecting adsorbents for improved fining of wine

The occurrence of faults and taints in wine, such as those caused by microbial spoilage or various taints, have resulted in significant financial losses to wine producers. The wine industry commits significant financial resources towards fining and taint removal processes each year. Fining involves the addition of one or more adsorptive substrates to juice or wine to bind certain components, thus reducing their concentration [1]. However, these processes are often not selective and can also remove desirable flavour and aroma compounds.

The effect of Nitrogen and Sulphur foliar applications in hot climates

ine nitrogen deficiency can negatively influence the aroma profile and ageing potential of white wines. Canopy management can alter vine microclimate, affect the nitrogen availability and influence the response of leaf senescence. Increasing the nitrogen availability to vines can increase the Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen (YAN) levels in harvested fruit and wine. Studies show that foliar nitrogen and sulphur applications at véraison, on low YAN Sauvignon blanc grapes have an effect on the level of amino acids (Jreij et al. 2009) and on S-containing compounds such as glutathione and thiols (Lacroux et al. 2008), which in turn can influence the formation of major volatiles and the aroma profile of the wine.

Effect of concentration and competition between different fungicide residues on the adsorption efficiency of activated vegetal fibres for treatment of wine

Vineyards are strongly exposed to fungal diseases, attacks from insects and competition with weeds. Most treatments used on grape vines contain synthetic active substances, which may be transferred to the wine. Such pesticides have a negative image because many active substances are potential health hazards. A specific oenological treatment allowing the reduction of pesticide residues in wine based on activated vegetable fibres (AVF) is under examination by the International Organisation for Vine and Wine. This technique works efficiently and alters the wine only little (Lempereur et al. 2014).