Influence of different maceration time and temperatures on total phenols, colour and sensory properties of Cabernet Sauvignon wines.

Maceration and fermentation time and temperatures are important factors affecting wine quality. In this study different maceration times (3 and 6 days) and temperatures (15 and 25 ) during production of red wine (Vitis vinifera L. Cabernet Sauvignon) were investigated. In all wines standard wine chemical parameters and some specific parameters as total phenols, tartaric esters, total flavonols and colour parameters (CD, CI, T, dA%, %Y, %R, %B, CIELAB values) were determined. Sensory evaluation was performed by descriptive sensory analysis. The results demonstrated not only the importance of skin contact time and temperature during maceration but also the effects of transition temperatures (different maceration and fermentation temperatures) on wine quality as a whole. The results of sensory descriptive analyses revealed that the temperature significantly affected the aroma and flavour attributes of wines. The highest scores for 'cassis', 'clove', 'fresh fruity' and 'rose' characters were obtained in wines produced at low temperature (15 ) of maceration (6 days) and fermentation.

Application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in wine technology.

In recent years, neural networks have turned out as a powerful method for numerous practical applications in a wide variety of disciplines. In more practical terms neural networks are one of nonlinear statistical data modeling tools. They can be used to model complex relationships between inputs and outputs or to find patterns in data. In food technology artificial neural networks (ANNs) are useful for food safety and quality analyses, predicting chemical, functional and sensory properties of various food products during processing and distribution. In wine technology, ANNs have been used for classification and for predicting wine process conditions. This review discusses the basic ANNs technology and its possible applications in wine technology.

Pomegranate wine has greater protection capacity than red wine on low-density lipoprotein oxidation.

Although there is a large body of evidence on the main role of red wine in protection of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) against oxidation, there are few data on the role of pomegranate juice, which has high phenolic content. We conducted this study considering the possible importance of pomegranate wine as an antioxidant and in order to make a comparison between red and pomegranate wines. The phenol levels of pomegranate and red wines (4,850 mg/L gallic acid equivalents and 815 mg/L gallic acid equivalents, respectively) were in accordance with their total antioxidant activity (39.5% and 33.7%, respectively). Both wines decreased LDL-diene levels following a 30-minute incubation period compared with controls (145 +/- 3.2 micromol/mg of LDL protein). However, pure pomegranate wine demonstrated a greater antioxidant effect (P < .01) on diene level (110 +/- 4.6 micromol/mg of LDL protein) than pure red wine (124 +/- 3.2 micromol/mg of LDL protein). In conclusion, we suggest that pomegranate wine has potential protective effects toward LDL oxidation, and it may be a dietary choice for people who prefer fruit wines.