Winery trial for reduction maceration time during vinification of Grenache grapes by application of pulsed electric fields

MAZA MARCOS; IGNACIO ALVAREZ; JAVIER RASO; JUAN MANUEL MARTINEZ

Congreso; IFT17; 2017

Phenolic compounds have a major influence on the quality of red wines because its contribution to organoleptic attributes, ageability and health-related properties. These compounds come mainly from the grape skins and they aretransferred into the fermenting must during the maceration-fermentation step which is conducted in the presence of the grape skins. As around 25% of the volume of fermentation tanks is occupied by grape skins, a long macerationstep reduces the production capacity of wineries. The application of techniques which enable to reduce the contact time between grape and must would be of great interest. The electroporation effect of PEF (Pulsed Electric Fields)has been described as a potential technique for this purpose at lab and pilot plant scale, but not at industrial scale. In this study, the effect of the electroporation of the skin of Grenache grape in the maceration time by application ofPEF in continuous flow in a winery has been investigated.