Red Wine Oxidation: Accelerated Ageing Tests, Possible Reaction Mechanisms and Application to Syrah Red Wines

Abstract

Wine oxidation and ageing involve many complex chemical pathways and reaction mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to set up new and reproducible accelerated red wine ageing tests and identify chemical oxidation or ageing molecular markers. Three accelerated and reproducible ageing tests were developed: a heat test (60 °C); an enzymatic test (laccase test; a chemical test (hydrogen peroxide test). Depending on the test, oxygen consumption was significantly different. For a young wine (2018), the oxygen consumption rate moved from 2.40 ppm·h−1 for the heat test to 3.33 ppm·h−1 for the enzymatic test and 2.86 ppm·h−1 for the chemical test. Once applied to two other vintages (2010 and 2014) from the same winery, the tests revealed different comportments corresponding to wine natural evolution. High resolution UPLC-MS was performed on forced ageing samples and compared to naturally aged red wines. Specific oxidation or ageing ion markers were found with significant differences between tests, revealing the specificity of each test and different possible molecular pathways involved. The hydrogen peroxide test seems to be closer to natural oxidation with an important decrease in absorbance at 520 nm and similar molecular ion variations for [M+H]+ = 291, 331, 347, 493, 535, 581, 639 Da.

Comparison of Three Accelerated Oxidation Tests Applied to Red Wines with Different Chemical Composition

“…In literature, there are numerous studies on the oxidative evolution of red wines by means of accelerated aging assessment tests that are very different from each other. Some are based on exposure to high temperatures, other on enzymatic tests, the addition of hydrogen peroxide [ 4 , 5 ], and the addition of exogenous acetaldehyde [ 6 , 7 ]. Among them, one of the most employed is the evaluation of oxygen consumption after successive saturation to investigate the behavior of wine pigments, tannins, and aroma compounds [ 8 , 9 ].…”

“…Among them, one of the most employed is the evaluation of oxygen consumption after successive saturation to investigate the behavior of wine pigments, tannins, and aroma compounds [ 8 , 9 ]. To the best of our knowledge, only recently a comparison among three of these tests has been made on Shiraz wine [ 5 ] and never have different red wines been considered.…”

Red Wine Oxidation Characterization by Accelerated Ageing Tests and Cyclic Voltammetry

“…This saturation operation was repeated three times. The procedure and the test optimization have been previously described by Deshaies et al [ 35 ]:…”

Wine Faults: State of Knowledge in Reductive Aromas, Oxidation and Atypical Aging, Prevention, and Correction Methods

“…During the winemaking process, oxygen is an important factor in creating quality wines as it takes part in enzymatic and nonenzymatic oxidation reactions. Enzymatic oxidation almost entirely occurs in the grape must, while non-enzymatic reactions can happen both in grape must and wine [ 82 , 88 , 89 ].…”