Volatile Profiles of Sparkling Wines Produced by the Traditional Method from a Semi-Arid Region

Abstract

São Francisco Valley (SFV) is located in Northeastern Brazil, in a tropical semi-arid region where one vine can produce two harvests per year, due to high temperatures, solar radiation rates, and irrigation throughout the year. This is the main characteristic differing this from other winegrowing region in the world. The objective of this study was to characterize volatile profiles of sparkling wines produced by the traditional method, using Chenin Blanc and Syrah grapes, the two main varieties used for white and red wines, respectively, grown in the region. The sparkling wines remained on lees for six months maturing. The sparkling wines were characterized by the parameters density, pH, total titratable and volatile acidities, residual sugars, dry extract, alcohol content, total phenolic compounds, in vitro antioxidant activity and volatile fraction. The volatile fraction extraction was performed by the HS-SPME technique and tentative identification of the volatile compounds was carried out with GC-MS using the scan mode. A total of 33 volatile compounds were identified, among them 11 alcohols, 13 esters, five carboxylic acids, and four different chemical classes. The volatile profile of Chenin Blanc sparkling wine was associated mainly to 2,3-butanediol, 3-ethoxypropan-1-ol, diethyl succinate, and ethyl decanoate, while Syrah sparkling wine was characterized by benzaldehyde, butyric acid, and some acetates. This study reported for the first time volatile profiles of traditional sparkling wines from SFV, as new products, contributing to better understand the quality potential of these beverages for a tropical semi-arid region.

Influence of Different Commercial Yeasts on Volatile Profile of Sparkling Wines

“…V2 sample displayed the highest level of this compound (62.58 μg L -1 ). According to de Souza Nascimento et al [25], this compound was on the most relevant esters in the volatile profile of Chenin Blanc sparkling wines. According to Torrens et al [44] and Riu-Aumatell et al [45], diethyl succinate represents one of the "ageing esters" which concentrations can increase in contact with yeast cells through the second fermentation.…”

“…Isoamyl acetate is usually derived from yeast metabolism during the alcoholic fermentation. This compound contributes to a banana-like note and gives complexity to white wines [25,40]. Its concentrations varied from 11.71 μg L -1 in V2 sample to 22.78 μg L -1 in V4 sample.…”

“…Alcohols represent secondary aromatic components derived from sugars and amino-acids transformation during the fermentation process, with a significant influence on wine's sensorial profile [25,40].…”

“…The volatile fraction comprises several classes of organic compounds in sparkling wines, such as esters, alcohols, organic acids, ketones, aldehydes, and terpenes [22]. Their concentration depends on the grape variety, climatic or biological factors and wine-making practices [23][24][25]. The activity of yeasts strains during the alcoholic fermentation is regarded as a significant agent contributing to the volatile fraction and organoleptic feature of sparkling wines [26].…”

“…Numerous studies have focused on the volatile fraction of sparkling wines and its sensorial implication [10,14,15,25,32]. Englezos et al [32] studied the effect of mixed fermentations of Starmerella bacillaris with different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains on the volatile profile and physicochemical composition of Barbera wines.…”