A Technical Alternative to Aging

The type of oak chips, its concentration and the contact time are variables that could influence the extraction of the oak compounds during the accelerated aging of the wines. The aim of the present work was to study the extraction of aroma compounds by synthetic wine from two different wood pieces, chips and cubes, used in two concentrations (4 g/L and 8 g/L). The results showed that furfural, 5-methylfurfural, 5- hydroxymethyfurfural (HMF), E- y Z-isomers of oak lactone, guaiacol, 4-ethylphenol, siringol and vanillin were the compounds mainly extracted from wood. These compounds contributed with vanilla, toasted wood, coconut, almond and smoked aromas. By adding the odorant activity values (OAVs) of the compounds showing similar aroma descriptor, the vanilla descriptor was the most intense one. In addition, significant differences were found between the two different types of wood pieces and concentrations. The synthetic wines in contact with oak chips (8 g/L) showed the highest odorant potency during all the contact time. Therefore, the selection of an oak chip type, of its concentration of use and of a contact time wine/wood should be based on the desired aging level of wine.