Abstract
Background and goals High grape pH directly influences the quality of the subsequent wines. Acidulation of grape juice and grape must by tartaric acid is a common practice but can leave a wine’s flavor unbalanced. Commercially available Catazyme® 25L, which contains the enzymes Glucose Oxidase (GOx) and Catalase, was investigated as a valid way to lower high pH in red grape juice/must while simultaneously lowering glucose, lowering potential alcohol, and increasing acidity.
Methods and key findings Tempranillo must and juice were treated with Catazyme® 25L at two levels of dosage (0.5 g/L and 1g/L) over a 24 hrs period under continuous aeration. Chemical and sensory analyses were performed on the resulting wines. Results indicated that the pH of Tempranillo juice was lowered by 0.84 units when using Catazyme® 25L at a rate of 1.0g/L. Similarly, addition of Catazyme® 25L at 0.5g/L decreased pH from must and juice, from 4.6 to 4.0 and 3.8, respectively. Lower alcohol wines were produced when using Catazyme® 25 L due to glucose being converted into gluconic acid. Sensory evaluation of the wines indicated a positive impact of the enzyme on color, aroma, and in-mouth flavor.
Conclusions and significance GOx in conjunction with catalase is an effective pH management system and of particular value in hot climate winemaking, where it can also help lower alcohol concentration, while positively impacting the sensory profiles of the wines.
- Received January 2022.
- Revision received May 2022.
- Revision received June 2022.
- Revision received July 2022.
- Revision received August 2022.
- Accepted August 2022.
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
