Alimentary film to reduce cork taint and improve wine organoleptic quality

Abstract

Wine quality may be compromised by mouldy off‒flavours related to cork taint. Although different compounds are considered to be involved in this wine defect, haloanisoles (HAs), and among them the 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), are claimed as the main responsible. Up to now there is no strategy to eliminate or lessen these unpleasant volatiles from wine. The present research aimed at assessing the efficacy of an alimentary plastic film for this purpose, as well as examining its potential impact on the colour, phenolic, aromatic and sensory attributes of wine.

The film treatment was able to successfully reduce the initial TCA content of the contaminated wines (≥47%, ≥73% and ≥81% after 8h, 24h and 48h of treatment, respectively). Colour was not visually perceived as different between untreated and film‒treated wines. Oenological parameters, total phenolic and tannin contents, as well as the flavan‒3‒ol and woody aroma profiles, did not change because of the film treatment. Meanwhile, a slightly increased anthocyanin content was noted beyond 24h of wine-film contact, maybe because of the plastic film absorption of certain wine components that anthocyanins are used to combine. A selective sorption of certain esters was observed, but no impact on the fruity perception of wines was underlined. Quite the opposite: film‒treated wines were described as more fruity than untreated ones, because the reduction of HAs content by the film treatment led to lower perception of corky notes, which were acting as a masking agent of pleasant aromas.

On the whole, film treatment may efficiently reduce cork taint of contaminated wines, by improving their overall organoleptic quality, and without almost no effect on their chromatic parameters, phenolic and aromatic composition.