Improvement of wine aromatic quality using mixtures of lysozyme and dimethyl dicarbonate, with low SO₂ concentration

Abstract

The use of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) in the treatment of foodstuffs presents some problems as it could lead to pseudo-allergies in some people. The aim of this research work was to study the addition of different preservative mixtures and their influence on the concentration of volatile compounds and sensorial quality in wine. To do so, vinifications were carried out using Garnacha must to which lysozyme, dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) and mixtures of these with SO₂ were added at different doses (25 and 50 mg l⁻¹). The results were compared with a control sample to which only SO₂ had been added (50 mg l⁻¹). In general, mixtures of SO₂ with lysozyme and DMDC favoured the formation of volatile compounds in the wines. Wines obtained from the mixtures of lysozyme and DMDC with 25 mg l⁻¹ of SO₂ had better sensorial quality than the wines obtained with 50 mg l⁻¹ as the only preservative used.

Keywords:

• sulphur dioxide (SO₂)
• lysozyme
• dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC)
• volatile compounds
• red wine

Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere appreciation to those experts from the Department of Food Technology at the Public University of Navarre (UPNa) who participated in the wine-tasting for this study.