RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Prediction of Effective Steam Sterilization Times for Wine Barrels Using a Mathematical Modeling Approach
JF American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
JO Am J Enol Vitic.
FD American Society for Enology and Viticulture
SP 101
OP 105
DO 10.5344/ajev.2020.20047
VO 72
IS 1
A1 Yao, Ruiye
A1 Kwong, Grace
A1 Miller, Konrad V.
A1 Block, David E.
YR 2021
UL http://www.ajevonline.org/content/72/1/101.abstract
AB Oak barrels are often used to flavor and color wine, beer, and distilled beverages. However, microorganisms can penetrate into the wood, making cleaning and sterilization difficult. This can lead to undesired microbial growth in the contents of the barrel during subsequent use. Information on heat penetration into barrel staves during steam treatment and associated thermal inactivation rates is scarce. Therefore, we incorporated heat transfer and Arrhenius-type death kinetics to build a mathematical model to predict the killing rate of the microorganisms when steam sterilizing a wooden barrel. First, we used this model to predict temperature profiles in barrel staves as a function of distance from the steamed surface and time of steaming. We then evaluated the thermal inactivation of microorganisms at 0.8 cm into the stave (the maximum wine penetration depth into a stave) to calculate the time needed to achieve a 5-log reduction in live cells. Using this approach, we found that the required sterilization times for Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides are 9 min, 12 min, and 200 min, respectively. This result is useful for winemakers to determine how long they desire to steam a barrel to prevent growth and contamination of key microbes in their wine.