|
|
Irradiating grapes with ultrasound can replace the usual maceration phase for rosé wines. This is what researchers from the Spanish universities of Murcia and Castilla La Mancha found out. They produced a rosé from grapes treated with ultrasound and compared it with a wine made from conventionally macerated must and one made from directly pressed grapes. The sonicated wine showed higher colour intensity, a higher content of polyphenols and anthocyanins and more aromatic alcohols. Therefore, this wine tasted more intensely of red fruits than the comparison wines. Despite a higher content of volatile compounds, the tasters did not find any defects.
Ultrasound is a well-known and well-tried method of extracting intracellular plant material and aromatic compounds. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has approved the ultrasound treatment of grapes for the production of red wines in 2019.
The Spanish research team concluded from the experiments that ultrasound could also be an interesting option for the production of rosé wines, as it could minimise oxidation.
(al / Source: The Winemaker)