Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Background and goals Every year, some white wine is lost during distribution because it has unexpectedly started to show oxidized character. One reason some wines taste “reduced” is that the winemaker has added excessive SO2 to avoid over-oxidation. While SO2 and ascorbate (where it is used) are the key preservatives in wine, some assays (FRAP, DPPH, and Folin-Ciocalteu method) used to predict a wine’s protection from oxygen include a response to components such as phenolics. However, phenolics are not antioxidants; they function more like catalysts that are continually recycled by SO2, at least in white wine before over-oxidation. This research aimed to develop a rapid shelf-life test for white wine by predicting SO2 exhaustion during aging. Methods and key findings Commercial white wines (n = 8) experienced accelerated aging (air saturated and heated at 45°C) and the total SO2 to O2 reaction ratio was calculated. Additionally, the SO2 addition method was used to determine the sulfite buffering factor of each sample. From those values, we derived a new formula, “potential wine shelf-life”, that factors in O2 uptake through wine closures and initial and minimum SO2 levels to predict when a particular wine would exhaust its free SO2. Conclusions and significance “Potential wine shelf-life” can forecast when free SO2 levels drop below a necessary minimum, and the wine will start to exhibit oxidized character. The simple formula should provide winemakers with a much more precise estimate of the shelf-life of their white wines.
Authors: Yingxin Miao, Andrew L. Waterhouse
Institution: University of California, Davis
Language: English
Subfield: Food Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: University of California, Davis
OpenAlex ID: W4409468162