Chapter 8C
Volatile Compounds and Wine Aging
M. Soledad Perez-Coello and M. Consuelo D ́ ́ ıaz-Maroto
Contents
8C.1 Introduction...................... ........................................ 295
8C.2 Volatile Composition of Oak Wood and Sources of Variation............... ...... 296
8C.3 Sensory Relevance ofthe Volatile Components of Oak Wood............... ...... 300
8C.4 Changes in the Wine Volatile Composition During Oak-Barrel Aging........ ...... 303
8C.5 NewTrendsinWineAging ................................................. 306
References ............................................................... 307
8C.1 Introduction
Oak wood barrel aging of wine from the end of fermentation to bottling is a common
practice at wineries, chiefly for red wines but sometimes also for white wines.
Bottle aging usually takes place after the barrel aging period, especially in the
case of red wines. Although some white wines like Riesling, Chenin Blanc or
Colombar wines are consumed one or two years after bottling, achieving during
this time a characteristic “bouquet of aging”. The same is not true for wines from
other varieties in which oxidation of theterpenes and hydrolysis of acetates and
ethyl esters of fatty acids contribute to the loss of the flowery and fruity character of
young white wines (Rapp and Marais 1993; Gonz ́alez-Vi ̃nas et al. 1996).
Generally speaking, aged wines are associated with wines that have spent a
period of time in an oak barrel acquiring a special aroma that is well appreciated
by the consumer, reaching a high price in the marketplace. For these reasons, this
chapter is focussed on all those aspects that may affect the volatile composition of
oak wood, and consequently of oak aged wine.
Oak barrels are regarded as being conducive to the sensory development of wines,
though the events taking place in the barrel are extremely complex. A series of
M.S. P ́erez-Coello (B)
Area de Tecnolog ́ ́ ıa de los Alimentos, Facultad de Ciencias Qu ́ımicas, Campus Universitario 10,
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
e-mail: [email protected]
M.V. Moreno-Arribas, M.C. Polo (eds.),Wine Chemistry and Biochemistry,
DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-74118-513,©CSpringer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
295