Wine Literature Review Lightning Round: 4th Edition

Normally, I save this series for Fridays, however, I was surprised by a marriage proposal (of which I said yes!) by my now-fiancé this weekend and didn’t end up having time to write anything else 🙂  Enjoy this post a few days early!

There’s no way one single person (even if that person is The Academic Wino!) can possibly review every single piece of peer reviewed literature related to wine that is published every day. This series presents multiple new papers (within the past year or so) in one post by briefly summarizing the research and linking to the source in order for you to pursue further if you’re interested. If there is enough interest, be it through comments or emails, I can review any of the papers introduced to you in this post in a more critical assessment.

WINEMAKING

“An assessment of using ground thermal inertia as passive thermal technique in the wine industry around the world”. This article, published in 2012, aimed to use a mathematical modeling approach to confirm the benefits of using underground cellars for aging wine, and to promote the use of this type of cellar when constructing new wineries. Basically, the model employed during this analysis used thermal inertia (i.e. how temperature moves in a given medium or space) of the ground in order to provide protection to the wines during the aging process. The characteristics of these underground cellars allow for good ventilation as well as good temperature control for the wines during the aging process.

According to the model results, the inputs of which were based on real underground wine cellars in Spain, the ideal temperature for storing wine is easily reached inside these underground cellars without the need for supplemental air conditioning. Eliminating the need for air conditioning is beneficial for multiple reasons, one being the savings on one’s electric bill, while the other being a savings for the environment in regards to a reduced carbon footprint. Finally, according to the authors of this study, the model the used in this analysis could be helpful for those designing or constructing new wine cellars, which based on the specific measurements and layout planned, could estimate the indoor temperature of the cellar and possibly allow for infrastructure changes if need be prior to completion of the facility if the temperature based on current specs was not up to acceptable standards.

Source: Mazarrón, F.R., Cid-Falceto, J., and Cañas, I. 2012. An assessment of using ground thermal inertia as passive thermal technique in the wine industry around the world. Applied Thermal Engineering 33-34: 54-61.

VITICULTURE

“Floral, spicy and herbaceous active odorants in Gran Negro grapes from shoulders and tips into the cluster, and comparison with Brancellao and Mouratón varieties”. This paper, published in 2012, aimed to examine the aromatic characteristics of Gran Negro grapes, and to specifically test if grapes from different parts of the cluster (shoulders and tips) would yield different aromatic compounds that could be taken advantage of when trying to create a unique wine in a highly competitive market. GC-MS spectroscopy was used to determine the aromatic chemical profile of the grapes from both the shoulders and the tips of the clusters.

The results of the study showed significant variation in aromatic compounds of grapes, depending upon where in the cluster the grape was located. For those grapes located at the tip of the cluster, volatile phenols and aromatic alcohols were 2 and 15 times higher in the flesh of the grape than in the skins, respectively, whereas for those grapes located at the shoulder of the cluster, volatile phenols were 2 times higher in the skins of the grapes compared with the flesh. Also, aldehydes and C6 alcohols were 4 and 3 times higher in the skin than in the flesh for those grapes located at the tips of the clusters. C6 alcohols were found to be 40% lower in the tips than in the shoulders.

Overall, this study showed that there is significant variation in the volatile composition of grapes, depending upon where in the cluster the grape is located, which could allow winemakers to create even more unique wines which could give them a market advantage in this competitive industry.

Source: Noguerol-Pato, R., Gónzalez-Barreiro, C., Cancho-Grande, B., Martínez, M.C., Santiago, J.L., and Simal-Gándara, J. 2012. Floral, spicy and herbaceous active odorants in Gran Negro grapes from shoulders and tips into the cluster, and comparison with Brancellao and Mouratón varieties. Food Chemistry 135: 2771-2782.

“RECYCLING”/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

“Wine grape pomace as antioxidant dietary fiber for enhancing nutritional value and improving storability of yogurt and salad dressing”. Grape pomace has already been shown to improve the shelf life and/or nutritional quality of many food products, including chicken, hotdogs, and green tea. This study, published in 2013, aimed to examine if grape pomace added to yogurt and salad dressing could be beneficial in this same manner, and whether or not consumers would actually enjoy the taste of these products after the pomace was added. Dried grape pomace powder was added to yogurt, Italian salad dressing, and Thousand Island salad dressing and stored for 3 weeks at 4oC.

Results showed that adding grape pomace to all samples resulted in a 35-65% reduction in peroxide values, indicating the potential benefit of grape pomace as a preservative in all three products. The samples also showed dietary fiber levels of 0.94-3.6%; total phenolic content of 958-1340 mg gallic acid equivalent/kg product; and DPPH scavenging activity (i.e. antioxidant capacity) of 710-936 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/kg product. Sensory analysis revealed the products with grape pomace added were nearly universally accepted as “likable”. Overall, the study results indicated that grape pomace could be a good additive to yogurt and salad dressing in order to prolong shelf life and improve the nutritional content of the products.

Source: Tseng, A., and Zhao, Y. 2013. Wine grape pomace as antioxidant dietary fiber for enhancing nutritional value and improving storability of yogurt and salad dressing. Food Chemistry 138: 356-365.

I’d love to hear what you all think about any or all of these topics!  Please feel free to leave comments!