Comparison of ancestral and traditional methods for elaborating sparkling wines.

This work compares the ancestral method for elaborating sparkling wines with the most widely used traditional method. Ancestral method is a single fermentation procedure in which the fermenting grape must is bottled before the end of alcoholic fermentation whereas traditional method involves a second fermentation of a base wine inside a bottle. Macabeo grapes were used to elaborate a traditional sparkling wine and two ancestral sparkling wines, one with a low yeast population and one with a high yeast population.

Use of Glutathione, Pure or as a Specific Inactivated Yeast, as an Alternative to Sulphur Dioxide for Protecting White Grape Must from Browning.

One of the problems that most seriously affects oenology today is enzymatic browning, especially when grapes are infected by grey rot. We studied the capacity of glutathione (GSH) and a specific inactivated dry yeast rich in glutathione (IDY-GSH) to protect white grape must from browning compared to that of sulphur dioxide (SO). The results indicate that SO drastically reduces the oxygen consumption rate (by around 72%), protects hydroxycinnamic acids from oxidation and prevents grape must against browning even in the presence of laccase.

Oxygen consumption rate of lees during sparkling wine (Cava) aging; influence of the aging time.

Sparkling wines elaborated with a traditional method need to age in the bottle in contact with wine lees because yeast autolysis enriches the wines in colloids and improves their effervescence, foam and aromatic complexity. It is generally considered that lees protect the wine against oxidation because they consume small amounts of oxygen that can permeate the crown cap. However, to our knowledge there is no specific study on this subject using lees from real sparkling wine.