Accelerating Wine Aging by Electric Field
Abstract: The process of wine usually involves a long period of aging time, e.g., up to 1 year or longer. An innovative technique applying high-voltage electric field treatment for accelerating wine aging is reported in this paper. The design principles, equipment configuration and its effect on taste and flavor are presented. The device consists of a high-voltage generator (up to 80 kV), a frequency adjustor, a treatment chamber and a controller. A young Cabernet Sauvignon wine was used in the aging tests. Results from sensory evaluation group demonstrated that the coarse and pungent raw wine became mellow and dainty after being treated for 3 to 5 min under the condition of 1,200 V cm-1 and a frequency of 3000Hz. HPLC and GC/MS combined with routine chemical analysis methods were used to identify the differences between the treated and untreated samples. It was found that the relative content of higher alcohol (fusel oils) in volatile compounds decreased from about 39% to 35%, while the diethyl succinate content increased from about 2% to 3.5%. Meanwhile, β-phenylethyl (as a typical fragrance) was found to increase from about 13% to 17%, while a small increase in the free amino acids content was observed. The main mechanisms causing chemical and hydrogen bonding changes were also discussed. The results of this study show that the technology of accelerating wine aging by high voltage electric field helps to shorten wine process time and improve its quality.
Key Words: high voltage electric field; wine; accelerate aging