Location: Plant Gene Expression Center
Project Number: 2030-12210-003-010-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2025
End Date: Sep 30, 2026
Objective:
The objectives of this project are:
1. developing small lab scale stripping technology for sulfur containing smoke and reduction compounds, using complex model solutions.
2. develop small lab scale stripping technology for phenol containing smoke and Brettanomyces of flavor compounds, using complex model solutions.
3. apply developed stripping technologies to impacted wines.
The Cooperator will work closely with ARS planning and conducting the research outlined below. The ARS will help guide project progress through participation in monthly smoke taint meetings.
Approach:
For trapping thiols, important smoke impact compounds and reduction compounds in wine, through formation of nonvolatile heterodisulfides may be achieved by establishing reaction conditions for heterodisulfide formation between the dissolved volatile thiol and a nonvolatile trapping thiol. Complex solutions of aroma compounds found in wine that include the desired negative compounds will be used. Only the target compounds will be trapped using nonvolatile trapping flask, while all other compounds will be unaffected or returned back to the reaction flask. Samples will be taken from reaction and trapping flasks throughout the reaction to measure the aroma content of each flask using established methods. Appropriate experimental parameters will first be established using the relatively simple model system and then those will be applied to processed vegetable purees; with adjustments being made as necessary. In all cases compounds will be measured before and after trapping. For developing small lab scale stripping technology for phenol containing smoke compounds, using complex model solutions, the same set up and procedure will be used as described above except that the trapping solution will be specific to oxidize volatile smoke and Brettanomyces related phenols. The oxidation of these compounds in the trapping flask will alter the compounds from volatile to nonvolatile and the proposed method of trapping. Finally, for the application of developed stripping technologies to impacted wines, the same set up as the previous objectives will be used except that wine with the negative flavor (smoke, reduction or Brettanomyces off flavor) will be in the reaction flask. Success of trapping will be measured by measuring both flasks before and after the system is run. The wine will then be used in sensory panels to determine that the negative flavor was removed and the positive wine qualities were preserved. Essentially that the treated wine is better than the untreated wine.