Background and Aims The request by the consumer for safer food is also pushing the wine sector to find alternative solutions to sulfur dioxide. The aim of this research has been to evaluate the application of ozone as a sanitising agent of grapes before vinification in order to avoid the use of sulfur dioxide. Methods and Results Postharvest ozone fumigation overnight of Petit Verdot grapes increased anthocyanin concentration by 19% versus 9% in the Control (untreated) during fermentation/maceration. Fermentation kinetics were faster in wine made from ozone‐treated grapes (16 vs 21 days for the Control), and extraction of phenolic substances and anthocyanin was more rapid than that in the Control wines, Ozone treatment significantly reduced the count of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and non‐Saccharomyces yeasts but also significantly decreased the acetic acid bacteria. The final wine produced from ozone‐treated grapes was characterised by low volatile acidity (similar to that of the Control wine) with a significant reduction in sulfur dioxide (17 and 8 mg/L, respectively, total and free sulfur dioxide). Sensory evaluation revealed a strong fruity aroma. Conclusions Ozone gas treatment of grapes reduced the microbial count significantly and increased the extraction of phenolic substances and the aroma of the final wine. Significance of the Study Postharvest ozone fumigation can be used to produce wine without sulfur dioxide.

Since 2011, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (FIC) exempted alcoholic beverages above 1.2% abv from the mandatory list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration. In 2017, the European Commission invited the alcohol beverages industry to respond to consumers’ expectations and to present, within a year, a proposal of self-regulation on ingredients and nutritional information covering the whole sector.

No abstract