Understanding wine sorption by oak wood: Modeling of wine uptake and characterization of volatile compounds retention

Abstract

Cooperage wood is a porous material and beverages exchange compounds with it by penetrating into its pores. This work demonstrates the enrichment of wood with wine during ageing. Three oak varieties were cut into different sized chips and immersed in fortified wine and water. Wine and water uptake were measured along time and sorption was described based on a saturation empirical model. Maximum uptake varied among wood types and was independent of particle size, which affected only equilibrium time. Sorption of wine volatiles such as alcohols, esters and acids in wood was shown, which was also dependent on wood type and independent of particle size. Multivariate analysis demonstrated differences and similarities in depletion of wood extractives and sorption of wine volatiles depending on wood variety. Sorption shown in this work demonstrates wood as a vector for aroma recombination, when reused for ageing between different beverages.

Keywords: Aroma recombination; Mathematical models; Oak wood; Volatile compounds; Wine ageing; Wood sorption.