 IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Monitoring the tawny port wine aging process using precision enology

Monitoring the tawny port wine aging process using precision enology

Abstract

AIM: Tawny Port wine is produced in the Douro Demarcated Region by blending several fortified wines in different aging stages. During the aging process in small wood barrels, the red wine color progressively develops into tawny, medium tawny, or light tawny. In this Port wine style, there are some special categories like Tawny Reserve, Tawny with Indication of Age (10, 20, 30, and 40 years), and “Colheita” that are commercialized worldwide. This last category is an exception, as these wines are from a single vintage [1]. In Tawny Port wine the oxidative aging process is multifactorial and critical for reaching the required quality. So, real-time monitoring of important intrinsic and extrinsic factors known to impact both wine quality and aging time are important to optimize and to manage the natural inconsistency among wines aged in diverse long-used wood barrels. This work shows the design, development, and implementation of a remote distributed system to monitor factors that are identified to be critical for the Tawny Port wine aging process.

METHODS: The Tawny Port wine aging process was monitored in two equal wineries – one of them with controlled temperature– in Vallegre, Porto S.A.. Barrels were instrumented with sensors to measure parameters during the aging process, specifically: pH, redox potential, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. The monitoring process was done using an RS-485 industrial network, which interconnects the mentioned sensors [2].

RESULTS: The distributed monitoring system was capable to detect differences among barrels and among the different storage conditions (controlled and room temperature). Redox potential and dissolved oxygen were the wine’s parameters where the differences among the different barrels were higher under the same storage conditions. Since the Tawny Port wine aging process is oxidative, a variation in the wine’s aging process among barrels is to be expected. Significant differences were detected in the oxygen consumption rate among the different barrels. Differences in the phenolic composition were also observed in the aged wine, both at controlled and room temperature

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicated that the distributed monitoring system was capable to detect variations among barrels and among both storage conditions: controlled and room temperature. Actually, redox potential and dissolved oxygen were the wine’s factors where the variances found were higher among wood barrels, while under the same storage conditions. This methodology is based on easy-to-use implanted systems, with the intention of giving an important contribution to other projects in the area of precision enology

Acknowledgment

The authors want to acknowledge FCT Portugal for funding the CQ – VR through the grant (UIDB/00616/2020 and UIDP/00616/2020), to project INNPORT “Otimização do processo de envelhecimento do vinho do Porto Tawny” and Vallegre Company.

DOI:

Publication date: September 10, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Contact the author

Keywords

precision enology, wine aging, instrumentation

Citation

Coping with heatwaves: management strategies for berry survival and vineyard resilience

Climate change is leading to an increase in average temperature and in the frequency and severity of heatwaves that is already significantly affecting grapevine phenology and berry composition (Webb et al., 2010). This is compounded by water stress, which is well known to increase the vulnerability of grapevines and berries to heatwaves. In hot climate regions like australia, grape production is only possible due to relatively secure supplies of water for irrigation. However, the upper temperature limits for berry survival of well-watered grapevines remains to be tested.

Effect of pre-fermentative cold soaking and use of different enzymes on the chemical and sensory properties of Catarratto wines

The wine industry widely recognizes that early-harvested grapes or those with uneven ripeness at harvest can produce wines with an “unripe fruit” mouthfeel [1,2]. Despite this, it is still unknown which compounds cause these sensory flaws or the most effective winemaking techniques to address them.

Effect of grape polysaccharides on the volatile composition and aromatic profile of Viura wines

AIM: Many research studies have analyzed the effect of polysaccharides in the aromatic composition of white wines.

Kegged wine as a sustainable alternative: impact on conservation and sensory quality

Wine is not just a beverage; it represents an entire ecosystem in winemaking regions and is deeply linked to economic, social, and environmental factors.

Les terroirs : variae causarum figurae

The jurist feels like an intruder when talking about terroirs. He looks at the press and tries to understand. We can read there about the cooking festival of May 30, 1996 which “..highlights products whose quality depends on a region”, that Camembert du pays d’Auge is the only one to be protected, I was thinking of camembert from Normandy, that 80% of Greek feta is made in the Netherlands, I thought it was in Denmark, and that the European Community protects geographical indications of IGP origin, probably a new category replacing the indications protected areas (1). I also learned that distributors are asking for more local products because “they come to confuse the cards in the part engaged with the big brands”. Carrefour has its “Terroirs and drawers”, Prisunic its “Vent d’Ouest”, Intermarché “Les bouquets du terroir”, Monoprix “Les terroirs de France” (2), Promodés and its brand “Reflets de France” for the “Continent” hypermarkets (3). At the same time it is asserted that “The term is a mere common noun. Unprotectable and therefore unprotected” (4).