Sulphite-free preservation of Wine

  • Lena Klimkeit
  • India
  • Jul 18, 2014

 

 

Europeans, well known for their love of wine, are testing a novel preservation method aimed at significantly reducing - or even eliminating - sulphites, which can cause allergic reactions in some people. Sulphites are formed when sulphur dioxide, added to most of the world’s wine as an antimicrobial agent and antioxidant, reacts with water molecules. Referred to as ‘cold pasteurisation’, since it spares heat-sensitive ingredients, the new, non-thermal process involves Pressure-Change Technology (PCT), developed by a Dresden company for fruit juice. This technology is now being applied to wine, by an eight-member consortium from five European countries, in a project funded by the European Union.  In PCT, a chemically inert gas such as nitrogen or argon is dissolved in wine at a high pressure of up to 500 bar, explained Ana Lucia Vasquez-Caicedo, a food technologist at the Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB), a leading member of the Consortium. The gas diffuses into microbial cells, and the sudden depressurization causes it to expand and the cells to burst. Having returned to a gaseous state, the gas is then removed. The researchers now plan to build a mobile PCT plant, which can be tested on-site at various wineries. Vasquez-Caicedo said PCT was meant to give European vintners an alternative to the current practice of adding sulphur dioxide - to prevent spoilage. In the EU, sulphites must be declared as an ingredient on wine labels, and limits on sulphites have been lowered. Sulphur dioxide extends a wine’s shelf live in two ways: first, it inhibits the development of micro-organisms such as unwanted yeasts, acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria; and second, its antioxidant properties safeguard the wine’s delicate flavours and protect it against browning. Since sweet wines are more susceptible to re-fermentation than dry ones, they require more sulphur dioxide, Vasquez-Caicedo said. Noting that alternative preservation methods were controversial in the wine industry, she stressed that the development of PCT wasn’t part of an anti-sulphite campaign. “Every vintner has his or her own production process,” she said.  Before PCT can be applied on an industrial scale, it must be tested and approved by the Paris-based International Organization of Vine and Wine.


Read More...


  • print
  • comnt
  • share

News from Communities

lowadd
  • Friday Gurgaon Seminar

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2014/8/2014_8$thumbimg129_Aug_2014_160822730.jpgOrange Fish
  • Gurgaon Speaks Up-Rest in Peace ''Damini''-Saturday Dec 29 @ Leisure Valley

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2013/1/2013_1$thumbimg104_Jan_2013_143656130.jpgOrange Fish
  • Genesis Foundation Fund Raiser

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/8/2012_8$thumbimg114_Aug_2012_091411630.jpgOrange Fish
  • Coca Cola Cricket trophy played in Gurgaon

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg117_Mar_2012_180857977.jpgOrange Fish
  • Union Budget 2012

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg116_Mar_2012_123404760.jpgOrange Fish
  • Union Budget 2012

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg116_Mar_2012_122004320.jpgOrange Fish
  • Renge Art Walk

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/3/2012_3$thumbimg102_Mar_2012_095312690.jpgOrange Fish
  • Friday Gurgaon Cricket team

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/2/2012_2$thumbimg119_Feb_2012_195202840.jpgOrange Fish
  • Genesis Fundraiser Gurgaon

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/1/2012_1$thumbimg129_Jan_2012_072409630.jpgOrange Fish
  • Gurgaon

    http://fridaygurgaon.com/arap_media_cms/gall_content/2012/1/2012_1$thumbimg102_Jan_2012_165747220.jpgOrange Fish

Latest Issue

Poll

Do you think government should reconsider its policy of promoting liquor vends in Gurgaon?



votebox View Results