An alternative for reducing calcium in wine and lowering the risk of insoluble salt formation

Abstract

Wine minerals, including calcium, derive mainly from grape berry extraction, but they could also arise from winemaking additives, processing aids, and other sources [1]. Wine calcium concentration can vary widely (7-310 mg/L [1]), and contents above 60 mg/L for reds and 70-80 mg/L for whites and rose have been linked with elevated risk of calcium tartrate instability [2-3]. The formation of calcium tartrate does not respond to treatments involving low temperatures [1,3], and traditional protective colloids have been found to be either ineffective or to produce inconsistent results [4-5]. Instead, recent research on algae-derived polysaccharides suggests that they should be further studied as potentially effective solutions for calcium tartrate instability [5-6]. In this study, the use of alginic acid sodium salt is proposed as an aid capable of partially removing calcium from wines, thus reducing the risks of calcium tartrate precipitation. So far, alginates have been studied as immobilization matrices for yeast or bacteria during wine production [7-8], but no studies appear to have evaluated sodium alginate for tartrate stability. Therefore, the dose of alginate, contact time, and wine pH were preliminary tested, followed by a series of trials in which white, rosé, and red wines were treated under the optimized conditions. Calcium content was analyzed colorimetrically and with atomic absorption spectroscopy [9], tartrate stability was checked with the method of Abguéguen and Boulton [10], and the wine’s general composition (e.g., pH, tartaric acid, free SO₂, phenolics, etc.) was characterized with various methods. Depending on the treatment conditions used, calcium concentration reductions ranging from 5 and 25% were observed, leading to enhanced calcium tartrate stability in the samples with the greatest calcium removal, while other compositional parameters analyzed remain constant or showed small variations. The study confirms that this approach effectively reduces calcium levels and potentially minimizes the formation of insoluble salts in wine.

Funding

This research was funded by ANID Chile, thought FONDECYT grant 1231484.

References

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