Abstract
Wine consumers demand white wines with different flavor profiles. Fermentation in oak barrels leads to wines with much more complex sensory properties, largely attributed to the phenols extracted from oak wood. Winemakers are aware of the importance of phenolic compounds, which give astringency and bitterness to wood-matured wines. We examined the differences in phenolic compounds in white wines that had been fermented in oak barrels as compared to stainless steel vats. To evaluate the effect of oak fermentation, Chardonnay and Picapoll free-run juices were fermented at an industrial scale in wooden barrels at the same winery, while controls were fermented in stainless steel. The presence of characteristic oak-wood phenols such as coniferaldehyde, sinapinaldehyde, syringaldehyde (aromatic aldehydes), and scopoletin (a coumarin) were found in the white wines Picapoll and Chardonnay fermented in barrels, but were not detected in the same wines fermented in stainless steel vats. The presence of volatile compounds such as 4-ethyl-guaiacol, 4-vinylphenol, eugenol, β-methyl-γ-octalactone, and furan compounds were also observed in Picapoll and Chardonnay wines fermented in oak wood.
Acknowledgment: This study was made possible by the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología project ALI 97-0396-CO2-01, and from the University of Barcelona, which supported M. Ibern-Gómez. The authors thank Joan Soler from Masies d’Avinyó winery (Manresa, Spain) for collaboration and F. X. de las Heras-Cisa for help in mass spectrometry.
- Copyright 2001 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture
Sign in for ASEV members
ASEV Members, please sign in at ASEV to access the journal online.
Sign in for Institutional and Non-member Subscribers
Log in using your username and password
Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 2 day for US$10.00
Regain Access - You can regain access to a recent Pay per Article purchase if your access period has not yet expired.