Title : Enological potential of wood shavings and mannoproteins for aging Portuguese red wines
Abstract:
I n recent years, wineries have introduced many technological innovations in the production of wines in order to achieve the good results at lowest prices. The aging stage of wine is a complex process due to the many changes produced in organoleptic characteristics which can improve the quality of a wine. The use of sticks in substitution of oak barrels is one possible strategy that allows to get good wine’s quality. Also, the addition of mannoprotein has been used as they contribute to color stability and sensory characteristics, namely the reduction of red wine astringency. Nevertheless, the studies with Portuguese wines from Dão Appellation Region are scare. In this there was studied the addition of oak sticks (French or American with different level of toasting) and mannoproteins at Touriga Nacional red wines. Touriga Nacional is the most important grape varieties of Dão region. The phenolic profile and protein content was performed using HPLC and spectrophotometric assays. The sensory profile was evaluated by wine-taster experts. The results were dependent of sticks and mannoproteins type and dose used, but in general, allowed to obtain wines with better quality.
