The grape variety, terroir, cultural practices, and winemaking techniques all have an impact on aromas. Among the several phases of winemaking, aroma extraction from grapes is critical to producing a high-quality wine.
Aroma compounds, both free and bound, are mostly found in the skin.
It has been documented for years for the aroma glycoconjugates but also demonstrated for the potential of DMS and thiol precursors, as shown in the attached figure.
This emphasises the need to establish the most efficient strategy for encouraging the diffusion of aroma precursors within grape must without sacrificing must and wine quality or decreasing winery productivity.
Optimising aroma extraction from grapes involves several key practices.
– Select grapes at optimal ripeness.
– Control the temperature during maceration, keeping in mind that the lower the maceration temperature is, the longer the maceration time should be, which will lead to significant aroma extraction.
– Proper oxygen management is also important to avoid any oxidative deviation.
Finally, consider that using enzymes can be a valuable tool for enhancing aroma extraction. For this purpose, the use of appropriate enzyme formulations for the degradation of the skin cell wall favours the diffusion of aroma precursors into the must.
By adjusting these variables and employing the right enzyme solutions, you can achieve your desired aromatic profiles, ensuring that the wines they produce are rich in distinct and high-quality aromas.
60–70% of the total varietal aroma content of white grapes is located in the vacuoles of the first 6–10 layers of the grape’s primary cell wall.
Specially formulated for white grape maceration (skin contact maceration), Rapidase® Expression Aroma facilitates the diffusion of aroma compounds and their precursors into juice. Rapidase Expression Aroma is a granular enzyme with high pectolytic activity associated with specific maceration activities targeted at aroma precursor extraction. This formulation is rich in endo-polygalacturonases and α-N-arabinofuranosidases and presents a well-balanced amount of hemicellulases (mainly xylanases). The enzyme, produced by dsm-firmenich the Seclin facility (France), is active at low doses (1–3 g per 100 Kg of grapes), in a short time span, and at temperatures as low as 8 °C. Normally, Rapidase Expression Aroma needs only 2–3 hours to complete extraction.
As an exemple, the impact of pre-fermentative maceration using Rapidase Expression Aroma on the thiol precursors in juice and volatile thiol levels in wine favours this practice.
Red wine quality is directly linked to its phenolic compound content and the balance between the different families of these compounds. The levels of the different phenolics and their interactions will not only determine the immediate organoleptic quality of a red wine but also its ageing potential and colour stability.
Here are some examples of the diverse winemaking processes using different Rapidase enzymes to help winemakers achieve their goals:
– Longer or shorter maceration based on grape ripeness and/or fermentation capacity.
– Colour or fruit-driven red wine styles.
In this context, Rapidase Extra Fruit is a unique micro-granulated enzyme for the combined extraction of colour and delicate aroma compounds that aids in challenging vintages where grapes don’t achieve full aromatic expression.
This enzyme has a decisive impact on the extraction of aroma precursors from grape skins and also on colour quality.
With a highly qualified team of experts in many fields, Oenobrands strives to offer winemakers’ novel and scientifically sound solutions, as well as to highlight the positive synergies between its products.
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