Discovering the volatilome fingerprint of selected traditional Cuban wines elaborated with native grapes, tropical fruits, and rice using DHS-TD-GC-MS.

Cuban wine is a traditional alcoholic beverage elaborated with a wide variety of raw materials, such as native grapes, tropical fruits, and rice, and different winemaking processes. Research on Cuban wines is almost nonexistent, and therefore, a study of these wines is necessary to improve their quality. Dynamic headspace (DHS)-TD-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was carried out to establish the different aroma fingerprints of different Cuban wines. A total of 42 volatile aroma metabolites (VAMs) were identified, including esters, alcohols, aldehydes, acids, volatile phenols, terpenes, and lactones. The odorant activity values (OAV) of each VAM were obtained, and the esters were the most relevant group due to their highest OAV. Ethyl octanoate, hexanoate, and butanoate stand out and are considered key odorants in the aromatic fingerprint. The VAMs were grouped into seven aromatic series. Fruity series showed the highest OAVs due to the contribution of ethyl esters and acetates. Principal component analysis was used to identify the specific parameters most accurately reflecting the differences between the wines. Showing that fruity, spicy, and chemical aromatic series allow distinguishing the wines into three aroma types. These results may provide useful information for the selection of raw materials and optimization of the traditional winemaking processes of Cuban wines. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This research contributes to knowledge of the aroma and the oenological parameters of traditional and selected Cuban wines (rice wine, tropical fruit wine, and native grape varieties). The establishing of the aroma fingerprint of these wines provides useful information for the industrial development of a quality product that may then be promoted in other areas of the world.

Changes in hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activity in relation to their phenolic composition during the chamber drying of red grapes at a controlled temperature.

The purpose of this work was to study the variation of phenol compounds, as measured by HPLC, during the chamber drying under controlled temperature conditions of red grapes of the Merlot and Tempranillo varieties in relation to antioxidant activity. Both lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant activities in these grapes increased during the drying process; the former was measured via proton transfer in the coupled oxidation reaction between linoleic acid and ß-carotene, and the second via electron transfer in the DPPH assay. The hydrophilic component was invariably greater in Tempranillo grapes, and so was the lipophilic component in Merlot grapes. Only the increase in hydrophilic antioxidant activity obtained a significant correlation with the phenolic compounds during the drying process. However, based on the phenolic fraction analysis, this result was primarily due to phenolic polymers and, to a lesser extent, also to phenolic acids, flavans, and some flavonols and anthocyans.

Changes of ochratoxin A in grapes inoculated with Aspergillus carbonarius and subjected to chamber-drying under controlled conditions.

The production pattern for ochratoxin A in grapes inoculated with Aspergillus carbonarius and changes in its concentration during raisining of Merlot, Syrah, Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon red grapes and Pedro Ximenez white grape were studied. Grapes were chamber-dried under controlled temperature and humidity conditions, with and without dipping pretreatments in alkaline emulsions of olive oil or ethyl oleate. Based on the results for the grapes that developed the fungus (Merlot and Pedro Ximenez), a temperature of 50 °C in the absence of dipping stopped ochratoxin A production and even degraded part of the toxin already formed. Both dipping pretreatments facilitated removal of the toxin and led to its virtually complete disappearance. However, dipping in the ethyl oleate emulsion caused substantial changes in the sensory characters of the musts obtained from the raisins, so it should be avoided to ensure the expected quality in the sweet wines elaborated from them.

Drying of Pedro Ximenez grapes in chamber at controlled temperature and with dipping pretreatments. Changes in the color fraction.

The drying of Pedro Ximenez grapes in chamber at a controlled temperature of 40 or 50 degrees C is studied. Compared to traditional sun-drying, the chamber-drying shortened the drying time by about 40% at 50 degrees C. In color terms, the musts obtained from grapes dried at 50 degrees C were closer in CIELab coordinates to those obtained by sun-dried grapes, with similar h(ab) values and slightly lower L* and C(ab)*. To shorten further the drying times at 50 degrees C, the grapes were dipped in olive oil or ethyl oleate emulsions containing potassium carbonate. The ethyl oleate pretreatment shortened additionally the drying time by about 25%, providing musts with chroma, lightness, and hue similar to those without grape pretreatment. In general, except for the phenolic compounds corresponding to the drying with ethyl oleate pretreatment, most of these compounds in the remainding conditions studied increased to a lesser extent than expected because of water losses of the grapes during drying, revealing degradation reactions.

Changes in color and phenolic compounds during the raisining of grape cv. Pedro Ximenez.

Changes in color parameters and phenolic compounds during the sun-drying grape raisining of cv. Pedro Ximenez to obtain sweet wines are studied. Browning increases during the process as a result of the contribution to a greater extent of the low and medium molecular size polymers than the high molecular size polymers. Raisining decreases hue and lightness and increases chroma, all measured as CIELab parameters, indicating a color change to dark reddish hues that is also preferentially due to low and medium molecular size polymers. Most of the phenols studied increase in concentration during raisining, essentially through the concentration effect resulting from the loss of water in the grapes. The concentration changes, however, are comparatively small for hydroxycinnamic esters and flavan-3-ol derivatives, suggesting that these phenolic fractions undergo predominantly oxidative degradation reactions by enzymatic pathways, contributing strongly to the browning of grapes.

Retention of browning compounds by yeasts involved in the winemaking of sherry type wines.

Wine model solutions were used to study the ability of dehydrated yeasts to retain the brown products formed in the reaction between (+)-catechin and acetaldehyde. Saccharomyces cerevisiae races capensis and bayanus, two typical flor yeasts involved in the biological aging of sherry wines, had a higher capacity to retain coloured compounds than S. cerevisiae fermentative yeast. Of the flor yeasts, capensis exhibited a higher colour reduction capacity than bayanus. Such differences may account for the different rate at which browning compounds are removed at different times of year during the biological aging of wines.

Interaction of yeasts with the products resulting from the condensation reaction between (+)-catechin and acetaldehyde.

The condensation reaction between (+)-catechin and acetaldehyde was studied in model solutions in the presence and absence yeasts in order to evaluate its contribution to color changes in fermented drinks such as white wine. On the basis of the results, the yeasts retain the oligomers produced in the reaction, their retention ability increasing for higher polymerization degrees. As a result, the color of model solutions, measured as the absorbance at 420 nm, was found to decrease after the addition of yeasts. On the other hand, the yeasts exhibited no inhibitory effect on the condensation reaction, which took place at the same rate in their presence and absence. At acidity levels and reactant concentrations similar to those in wine, with acetaldehyde in high concentration as it is present in sherry wines, the reaction was found to occur very slowly. Taking into account that Yeasts are present during most of the winemaking process; consequently, they retain oligomers, and the studied reaction could mainly contribute to the alteration of the color of white wine after bottling.

Adsorption of phenolic compounds and browning products in white wines by yeasts and their cell walls.

Dehydrated yeast cells at variable concentrations were used as fining agents to decrease the color of white wines with two different degrees of browning (0.153 and 0.177 au, measured at 420 nm). Both wines showed a linear decrease of browning with increasing yeast concentration. However, in terms of efficiency, the yeasts exhibited a higher color lightening at greater concentrations acting on the darker wine. This suggests a preferential retention of some types of yellow-brown compounds that could increase their concentrations at the higher degree of browning. To confirm the role of yeast cell walls in the retention of browning compounds and to evaluate their potential use as fining agents, they were applied at variable concentrations to a browned wine (0.175 au). The cell walls were found to be the active support for the adsorption of browning compounds, but their efficiency was much lower than that of an equivalent amount of the yeast cells from which they were obtained. Finally, HPLC determinations of low-molecular-weight phenolic compounds showed flavan-3-ol derivatives to be significantly retained by both yeasts and their cell walls.

Yeast-induced inhibition of (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin degradation in model solutions.

(+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin degradation in water-alcohol solutions containing Fe2+ and tartaric acid was studied in the presence and absence of yeasts. On the basis of the results, yeast partially inhibited the degradation of both flavans, with much slower formation of browning products absorbing at 420 and 520 nm. In comparative terms, yeast was found to be more efficient toward the degradation products of (+)-catechin absorbing at the latter wavelength. Likewise, the presence of yeast decreased the yield of a group of colored compounds eluting at high retention times in HPLC and indicated these as important contributors to color darkening in white wines. This inhibitory effect may in part account for the resistance to browning observed over periods of several years in sherry wines subjected to biological aging under flor yeast.