Abstract
In this study, a climate chamber, as an alternative method, has been used to dry raisins and the sensory profiles of the sweet sherry wines obtained have been evaluated. Other important factors, namely grape variety, vintage, vinification conditions, as well as the ageing method and its length of time, have also been considered. When heavy rainfall had been registered, the musts extracted from grapes dried under controlled conditions in a climate chamber showed a lower intensity of the musty off-odor compared to those elaborated with sun-dried grapes. The wine fermented at low temperature with Saccharomyces bayanus scored the highest in citric and floral notes, and this was preferred over all the other wines that were evaluated. The wines aged in oak barrels were preferred to both, wines aged in the presence of oak chips as well as those aged without any wood contact. The use of climate chambers to dry the grapes that are going to be used for the elaboration of sweet wines appears to be an advantageous alternative to the traditional method, since it allows a more precise control of the process and highly valued sweet wines from a sensory point of view are obtained thereby.
Highlights
The production of sweet wines is commonly carried out with dehydrated grapes and there are three different processes to perform the water loss of the grapes: dehydration at a controlled temperature, humidity and ventilation; drying with non-controlled conditions and withering with eventual control of temperature and humidity and natural ventilation [1]
With a view to proposing the use of climate chambers as an alternative to the traditional sun-drying method, we have evaluated the sensory profiles of sweet sherry wines elaborated from grapes dried in climatic chambers
Given that according to the standard, 8 is the minimum number of coincidental judgments required to confirm a significant difference between the samples, we could conclude that the Muscat musts and those of Pedro Ximénez presented a significantly different aromatic profile if the grapes had been raisined in the sun or in a climate chamber
Summary
The production of sweet wines is commonly carried out with dehydrated grapes and there are three different processes to perform the water loss of the grapes: dehydration at a controlled temperature, humidity and ventilation; drying with non-controlled conditions and withering with eventual control of temperature and humidity and natural ventilation [1]. The sweet wines elaborated in Andalusia, Spain, are made from different white grape varieties, mainly Muscat and Pedro Ximénez, which are subjected to an ancient traditional method with non-controlled conditions: harvested grapes are dried in the open air, exposed to direct sunlight. This process is known as “asoleo” or sunning, where bunches of grapes are spread out on “redores”—esparto grass mats. When this traditional procedure is applied, grapes may suffer undesired alterations that would have an impact on the quality of the final product; rainfalls may contribute to the growth of certain fungi, which would lead to the loss of a considerable proportion of the treated grapes
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