Effects of Long-Term Bottle Storage on Red and Rosé Wines Sealed with Different Types of Closures

Volatile and non-volatile chemical profiles, free and total SO2 and dissolved oxygen content were studied in three red (Merlot, Lagrein red, St. Magdalener) and one rosé (Lagrein rosé) wine after 30 months of storage in bottles. Each wine was sealed with closures made of a ‘blend’ (B) of natural cork microgranules and polymers without glue and was compared with wines closed with other types of corks (C; a technical cork 1 + 1, or an agglomerated natural cork or a natural one-piece cork). Glutathionyl caftaric acid (GRP) was inversely correlated with total SO2 content and was higher in all three red wines closed with B compared to C, whereas epicatechin was higher in three wines closed with C compared to B. Three volatile compounds formed by fermentation (ethyl butanoate, isoamyl lactate, and octanol) were inversely correlated with both free and total SO2. In terms of their volatile profiles, ethyl octanoate and 2,3-butanediol were significantly higher in the Lagrein red wines closed with C closures, whereas no significant difference was observed in Merlot, Lagrein rosé and St. Magdalener wines. Small differences in some phenolic compounds due to the type of closure were found: GRP, syringic acid, (+)-catechin, and (−)-epicatechin differentiated the Merlot wines closed with B from the C closures. Protocatechuic acid and GRP levels differentiated the Lagrein red wines according to their closure type, whereas only (−)-epicatechin differentiated the Lagrein rosé wines. GRP, caffeic acid, (−)-epicatechin, and anthocyanin content differentiated the St. Magdalener wines according to their closure type. Even though St. Magdalener and Lagrein rosé closed with C could be distinguished from those closed with B by using the (sensory) triangle test (α = 0.05), these differences appeared to be relative as it did not include all the wines in a systematic manner.

Impact of wine vessels on the properties of rose wine made from Saperavi

Viticulture - winemaking is one of the oldest activities of mankind, which dates back centuries. In Georgia there are such grape varieties and such traditional methods of winemaking that are not found in other countries. For example, Saperavi grape and production of Qvevri (pitcher) wine. Saperavi is an ancient Georgian grape variety on which Georgian winemaking is based today.We have established experimentally the possibility of making high quality rose wine with various characteristics from Saperavi grown in Kakheti region using different wine vessels, such as stainless steel reservoir, oak barrel, traditional Georgian Qvevri (pitcher), under production conditions. The physical, chemical and organoleptic properties of various wines that provide the individuality of the wine have been determined.The main quantities characteristic to rose wine differ from one another, which is obviously due to the vessel in which the wine was made. For example, the wine, fermented and aged in the barrel has the most density because the tannins from the oak barrel increase it; the rose wine, made in the reservoir, has the lowest extract; in the case of Qvevri (pitcher) wine, the mass of dry matter is increased at the expense of the constituent substances of the clay of the pitcher; the wine made in the pitcher has the lowest titratable acidity because the wine acids go into the reaction with the mineral substances of the pitcher clay and the overall acidity decreases; the barrel and Qvevri rose wine has slightly higher volatile acidity. Here the reason for that should also be found in the porosity of the barrel and the pitcher.The various wines produced differ from one another organoleptically as well, which shows the role of the vessel in forming the taste properties of the wine. The different vessels used change all the components of the sensorics.All three wines are interesting in their own way, but the rose Qvevri wine is special for the taste of the traditional Georgian pitcher is best combined with the rose wine made with European technology and gentle processing.

The Success of Rosé Wine in France: The Millennial Revolution

Rosé wine consumption in France has tripled since 1992 and, in 2020, accounts for a third of the total national consumption. The objective of our article is to analyze the revolutionary success of rosé wine in France in the Millennial Generation. We mobilize the concept of social representation, which constitutes an understanding of the social transformations in progress for a given social group. We carry out in-depth qualitative research based on conversations with millennial rosé wine consumers. Our results show that the representations of rosé wine for this group are based on five dimensions: (a) product quality and refusal of sophistication, (b) color of the rosé wine, (c) freedom, (d) immediate pleasure and sharing with friends, and (e) its feminine personality. This transgressive capital explains the consumption behaviors of the Millennial Generation reflecting the group’s will to break traditional wine codes familiar to previous generational groups. This sociocultural model differs from that of the Baby Boomer Generation, which was marked by the valorization of terroir and sophistication and based on masculine archetypes and red wine. Rosé wine thus marks a generational and sociological break in the representations of wine in France, which we can describe as a rosé wine revolution in the 21st century. The predictive capacity of the Millennial Generation suggests a growth in rosé wine consumption in the years to come. We recommend to rosé wine producers seven strategic axes, which reconcile the point of view of the producer and the consumer.

The Double Face of Ketamine—The Possibility of Its Identification in Blood and Beverages

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a high-sensitivity methodology for identifying one of the most used drugs—ketamine. Ketamine is used medicinally to treat depression, alcoholism, and heroin addiction. Moreover, ketamine is the main ingredient used in so-called “date-rape” pills (DRP). This study presents a novel methodology for the simultaneous determination of ketamine based on the Dried Blood Spot (DBS) method, in combination with capillary electrophoresis coupled with a mass spectrometer (CE-TOF-MS). Then, 6-mm circles were punched out from DBS collected on Whatman DMPK-C paper and extracted using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). The assay was linear in the range of 25–300 ng/mL. Values of limits of detection (LOD = 6.0 ng/mL) and quantification (LOQ = 19.8 ng/mL) were determined based on the signal to noise ratio. Intra-day precision at each determined concentration level was in the range of 6.1–11.1%, and inter-day between 7.9–13.1%. The obtained precision was under 15.0% (for medium and high concentrations) and lower than 20.0% (for low concentrations), which are in accordance with acceptance criteria. Therefore, the DBS/MAE/CE-TOF-MS method was successfully checked for analysis of ketamine in matrices other than blood, i.e., rose wine and orange juice. Moreover, it is possible to identify ketamine in the presence of flunitrazepam, which is the other most popular ingredient used in DRP. Based on this information, the selectivity of the proposed methodology for identifying ketamine in the presence of other components of rape pills was checked.

Multi-Elemental Analysis of Wine Samples in Relation to Their Type, Origin, and Grape Variety

Wine is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages. Therefore, the control of the elemental composition is necessary throughout the entire production process from the grapes to the final product. The content of some elements in wine is very important from the organoleptic and nutritional points of view. Nowadays, wine studies have also been undertaken in order to perform wine categorization and/or to verify the authenticity of products. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of the chosen factors (type of wine, producer, origin) on the levels of 28 elements in 180 wine samples. The concentration of studied elements was determined by ICP-MS (Ag, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sn, Sr, Te, Tl, U, Zn), ICP-OES (Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Ti), and CVAAS (Hg) techniques in 79 red, 75 white, and 26 rose wine samples. In general, red wines contained higher values of mean and median of B, Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn, Sr and Zn in contrast to other wine types (white and rose). In white wines (when compared to red and rose wines) higher levels of elements such as Ag, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Li, K and Ti were determined. In contrast, rose wines were characterized by a higher concentration of Fe and U. The study also revealed that in the case of 18 samples, the maximum levels of some metals (Cd—8 samples, Pb—9 samples, Cu—1 sample) were slightly exceeded according to the OIV standards, while for Zn and Ti in any wine sample the measured concentrations of these metals were above the permissible levels. Thus, it can be stated that the studied wines contained, in general, lower levels of heavy metals, suggesting that they should have no effect on the safety of consumption. The results also showed higher pH level for red wines as a consequence of the second fermentation process which is typically carried out for this type of wine (malolactic fermentation). The highest median value of pH was reported for Merlot-based wines, while the lowest was for Riesling. It is assumed that dry Riesling has a higher content of tartaric and malic acid than dry Chardonnay grown in the same climate. From all of the studied countries, wines from Poland seemed to present one of the most characteristic elemental fingerprints since for many elements relatively low levels were recorded. Moreover, this study revealed that also wine samples from USA and Australia can be potentially discriminated from the rest of studied wines. For USA the most characteristic metal for positive identification of the country of origin seems to be uranium, whereases for Australia – strontium and manganese. Based on the highly reduced set of samples, it was not possible to differentiate the studied wine products according to the grape variety other than Syrah, and partially Chardonnay. Since all the Syrah-based samples originated from the same country (Australia) thus, the observed grouping should be more related with the country of origin than the grape variety.

The impact of enological products for tartaric stabilization on wine filterability

The aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of most commonly used agents for tartaric stabilization of wine, such as metatartaric acid, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), mannoproteins and gum arabic, on the filterability of white, rose and red wine previously pre-filtered and prepared for the final filtration and bottling. Wine filterability after sweetening with rectified concentrated must was also assessed. The experiments were carried out using Quality Filterability Test and the obtained results were expressed through filterability index (FI), and maximum filterable volume (Vmax). The results confirmed that used enological agents for the inhibition of tartaric instabilities generally did not worsen the filterability of white and rose wine (FI<20). However, it was evident that products containing mannoproteins and metatartaric acid considerably reduced red wine filterability (FI>500). The correlation between white and rose wine turbidity and filterability was recorded in the trials but the same trend was not registered for the red wine. The results of this study are important since membrane (final) filtration of improperly prepared wine characterized by low filterability can both increase the costs and lead to hold up on the bottling line.