Abstract
Little is known about the chemical and sensory characteristics of natural sweet wines obtained by different grape dehydration processes. The main aim of this work is to characterise several natural sweet wines, in order to understand the influence of grape dehydration on the chemical and sensory profile of those wines. First, conventional oenological parameters and low molecular weight phenolic compounds have been determined. Next, sensory descriptive analysis was performed on individual samples based on citation frequencies for aroma attributes and conventional intensity scores for taste and mouth-feel properties. Low molecular weight phenolic compounds and acidity were found in a lower concentration in most wines from off-vine dried grapes. Late harvest wine presented higher amounts of phenolics. White wines showed higher sensory and chemical acidity. Most wines obtained from off-vine and on-vine grape dehydration presented common notes of dry fruits and raisins as aroma properties. Chemical and sensory analyses performed in this study were able to define sweet wines. No significant differences have been found in chemical and sensory profiles of sweet wines according to dehydration processes of the grapes. Late harvest wine and white wines were differentiated from other wines through chemical and sensory analysis.
Highlights
The first wines obtained by human beings were sweet wines due to the climatic conditions where grapes were harvested and processed, which did not allow to finish fermentation
Average values of conventional oenological parameters and low molecular weight phenolic compounds determined in wine samples are shown in Tables IV and V
Chemical analyses of conventional oenological parameters using FTIR technique and low molecular weight phenolic compounds using the UPLC-MS technique were suitable in order to characterise sweet natural wines presented in this study
Summary
The first wines obtained by human beings were sweet wines due to the climatic conditions where grapes were harvested and processed, which did not allow to finish fermentation. In the Mediterranean basin, the climatic conditions were favorable to leave the grapes in the vine to overripe, or to collect the clusters and allow them to dry in the sun and wind. The wine industry tries to diversify the wine market by producing wines with distinctive characteristics and creating new products of high quality. In this regard, the production of sweet wines could be a good way to achieve this goal
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