Determining the impact of seasoning on the volatile chemical composition of the oak wood of different Sherry Casks® by DTD–GC–MS

The casks that have contained for a certain time Sherry wines are known as Sherry Casks® and their use and value have increased in recent years, as they confer unique organoleptic properties to the distillates and beverages that are aged inside them. During their seasoning, these casks yield certain compounds from wood into the wines, and at the same time, they retain some compounds from these Sherry wines which, in turn, are transferred to the distillates that are aged inside the casks, so that wood acts as a transfer vector between the two alcoholic beverages. A characterization of seasoned staves with three Sherry wines, Fino, Oloroso, and Pedro Ximénez, by DTD–GC–MS has been carried out in this study. Different tendencies regarding the compounds present in the wood have been observed as follows: in general, certain compounds from wood either disappeared or decreased during its seasoning, while other compounds that come from the seasoning wine either increased or appeared in the wood during the seasoning process. This fact demonstrates that during the ageing of Sherry wines these transfer certain interesting compounds into the casks wood, which are in turn transferred to the distillates

Characterization of the Aromatic and Phenolic Profile of Five Different Wood Chips Used for Ageing Spirits and Wines

Wooden barrels and wood chips are usually used in the ageing of spirits and wines to improve their sensorial profile. Oak wood is the most popular material used in cooperage, but there are other interesting woods, such as cherry or chestnut, that could be considered for this purpose. In this study, a novel method for the determination of the aromatic profile of wood powder by Direct Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (DTD-GC-MS) was optimized by experimental design. The volatile composition of five different types of wood chips was determined by direct analysis of wood powder by DTD-GC-MS method developed. Thirty-one compounds from wood were identified through this analysis, allowing the differentiation between woods. The aromatic and phenolic compound profile of the 50% hydroalcoholic extract of each type of wood studied was analyzed by Stir-bar Sorptive Extraction-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (SBSE-GC-MS) and Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) to determine which wood compounds are transferred to spirits and wine after ageing. Different phenolic profiles were found by UHPLC in each wood extract, allowing their differentiation. However, results obtained by SBSE-GC-MS did not allow distinguishing between wood extracts. The analysis of wood in solid state, without any type of previous treatment except grinding, by DTD-GC-MS does not imply any loss of information of the aromatic compounds present in wood as other techniques. This is a potential method to identify aromas in wood that, in addition, allows different types of wood to be differentiated

A Study on the Influence of the Use of Sulphur Dioxide, the Distillation System and the Aging Conditions on the Final Sensory Characteristics of Brandy

Brandy is a unique alcoholic beverage obtained from wine distillates. Numerous studies have been published on its physicochemical traits and the effect of certain elaboration variables on them, but not many studies have been carried out from a sensory point of view or that have followed standardized methods applicable to this discipline. This study intends to determine the effect that certain production variables have on the sensory characteristics of brandy. These variables are the following: The use of sulphur dioxide during the fermentation of the base wine, the subsequent distillation system, the alcohol content during aging, the botanical origin of the aging casks, and their toasting degree. For this purpose, the guidelines provided by the ISO standards for sensory analysis have been followed, and chromatic parameters have also been determined. Heavy extractions from Quercus petraea casks resulted in brandies with widely varying colors, although these were hard to distinguish using the olfactory and gustatory properties associated with the factors under study. Conversely, those brandies aged in Quercus alba casks presented very consistent greenish shades that are not traditionally associated with aged brandy. This lower extraction could explain why the aromatic traits that are found in the fresh spirit are better preserved when this type of oak is used. The spirit obtained through the distillation of SO2-free wines aged in Quercus robur presented average sensory characteristics: Good color, smooth in the mouth, and medium-intensity oak notes. The distillates that were aged at 55% ABV were later perceived as more aromatically intense with a greater oak note on the palate. On the other hand, the brandies obtained from wines without SO2 added were perceived as less alcoholic, sweeter, and more balanced, with a softer oak note.26 página

Evaluating mountain goat dairy systems for conversion to the organic model, using a multicriteria method

Organic farming conserves natural resources, promotes biodiversity, guarantees animal welfare and obtains healthy products from raw materials through natural processes. In order to evaluate possibilities of increasing organic animal production, this study proposes a farm-scale multicriteria method for assessing the conversion of dairy goat systems to the organic model. In addition, a case study in the Northern Sierra of Seville, southern Spain, is analysed. A consensus of expert opinions and a field survey are used to validate a list of potential indicators and issues for assessing the conversion, which consider not only the European Community regulations for organic livestock farming, but also agroecological principles. As a result, the method includes 56 variables integrated in nine indicators: Nutritional management, Sustainable pasture management, Soil fertility and contamination, Weed and pest control, Disease prevention, Breeds and reproduction, Animal welfare, Food safety and Marketing and management. The nine indicators are finally integrated in a global index named OLPI (Organic Livestock Proximity Index). Application of the method to a case study with 24 goat farms reveals an OLPI value of 46.5% for dairy goat farms located in mountain areas of southern Spain. The aspects that differ most from the agroecological model include soil management, animal nutrition and product marketing. Results of the case study indicate that the proposed method is easy to implement and is useful for quantifying the approximation of conventional farms to an organic model

Analytical and Chemometric Characterization of Fino and Amontillado Sherries during Aging in Criaderas y Solera System

Fino and Amontillado are Sherry wines, produced in Marco de Jerez area (southern Spain), and aged in Criaderas y Solera system. Fino Sherry wine follows a biological aging process, under a veil of flor yeasts, while Amontillado Sherry wine shares the same biological aging firstly, followed by oxidative aging, which gives them special features. Organic acids, esters, higher alcohols, phenolic compounds and total dry extract of Sherries evolve during aging due to evaporation processes, physical-chemical reactions, wood contributions and microbiological activity. During aging, Sherry wines improve their organoleptic profile, as could be proved in the tasting sessions. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and Factor Analysis with factor extraction using Principal Components of Sherry wines studied were carried out and natural groupings of the wines according to the type of aging and their age were observed. A strong correlation between the parameters analyzed and the aging of each wine has been seen in the Multiple Linear Regression studies, establishing two different models, one for each type of Sherry wine, that, with only four of all the variables studied estimated the wine age with more than 99% of confidence. This constitutes a useful tool to control the age of these Sherry wines in the winery.This research has been supported by the University of Cadiz and Bodegas Fundador, S.L.U. (ref.: OT2019/108, OT2020/128, OT2021/076). The authors wish to thank the University of Cadiz and Bodegas Fundador, S.L.U. for the industrial pre-doctoral contract TDI-8-18, granted to the author Maria Guerrero Chanivet

Comparative Evaluation of Brandy de Jerez Aged in American Oak Barrels with Different Times of Use

Brandy de Jerez is a European Geographical Indication for grape-derived spirits aged in oak casks that have previously contained any kind of Sherry wine and, therefore, are known as Sherry Casks (R). Wood compounds have a substantial influence in the quality of the brandies that are aged in the barrels. In the cellar, the barrels that have been used for many years to keep Sherry wine or other wine spirits are often used for this purpose. When wooden barrels are used for the first time, they release a large amount of compounds into the liquid contained in them. Such amount decreases over time but casks life cycle has remained unexplored until now. The present work has the aim to study the brandies obtained from the same wine spirit after two years ageing in three differently oak casks: namely new, 7 years of use (4 years containing Oloroso wine and 3 years containing wine spirits) and 32 years of use (8 years containing Oloroso wine and 24 years containing wine spirits). According to the results from our experiments, even after 32 years of use, the wood barrels still contribute to modify the organoleptic characteristics of brandy. Moreover, the brandies aged in used barrels were judged more balanced than those aged in new barrels

Analytical, Chemometric and Sensorial Characterization of Oloroso and Palo Cortado Sherries during Their Ageing in the Criaderas y Solera System

Oloroso and Palo Cortado are two types of sherry wines, produced in the Sherry Wine Region in Southern Spain, known as Marco de Jerez, where it is aged following the traditional Criaderas y Solera system. All of them are aged through oxidative ageing, even though the peculiar Palo Cortado Sherry wine is also aged biologically under a veil of flor yeasts in the first stage. Total dry extract, organic acids, aldehydes, esters, higher alcohols and phenolic compounds in these sherry wines evolve during their ageing as a consequence of evaporation and/or perspiration processes, chemical reactions, extraction of compounds from oakwood and microbiological activity. Sherry wines develop their characteristic organoleptic profile during their ageing, as could be proven through their tasting sessions. According to the sherry type, some natural groupings of the wines could be observed after their principal component analysis. Furthermore, by multiple linear regression methods, an important correlation between the parameters that were analyzed and the ageing of each specific wine has been confirmed, which allowed us to establish two different models, each corresponding to the sherry type in question. Only five of the variables that were investigated were required to successfully estimate each wine’s age at over 99% confidence. This represents a rather convenient tool for wineries to monitor the ageing of these sherry wines.29 página

Sintomatologia, etiología y algunos factores que inciden en la caída de plántulas de algodonero en Andalucía Occidental

Se describen los resultados de dos prospecciones sobre Caída de plántulas de algodonero efectuadas en 1999 en 28 parcelas con historia de incidencia de la enfermedad en Andalucía occidental. En la prospección temprana se recogieron 401 plantas de rodales con problemas y se encontró una mayor incidencia de Rhizoctonia solani. En la tardía se recogieron 976 plantas al azar y Thielaviopsis basteóla fue el que se encontró con más frecuencia, notándose un incremento de la importancia de este hongo en los suelos arcillosos al sur de Sevilla. Se ha estudiado la sintomatologia presente y encontrado una asociación entre los aislamientos de R. solani y la muerte de las plántulas y entre T. basicola y las necrosis más oscuras y negras, comprobándose además que un elevado número de síndromes estuvieron causados por agentes abióticos. Se presentan datos previos de las relaciones entre la frecuencia de aislamientos de estos patógenos y algunas prácticas culturales como fueron el quemado de los restos del cultivo anterior y las dosis del abonado de fondo. En este trabajo se realizaron análisis de la germinación de la semilla sembrada por los agricultores y se hacen consideraciones sobre el "vigor" de la semilla empleadaResults of two cotton surveys on cotton damping-off realized in west Andalucía (Spain) are described. Twenty eight cotton fields known as disease prone were sampled. At first survey 401 plants were collected from infected areas of the fields and Rhizoctonia solani was the fungus most frequently recovered. One month later, the same fields were randomly sampled and 976 plants were collected founding a higher incidence of Thielaviopsis basicola, specially on clay soils southern Seville. Plants were classified by symptoms and related to isolated fungi. R. solani was associated with seedling death and T. basicola with dark brown or black necrosis. A high percentage of syndromes had an abiotic origin. Preliminary conclusions on relationships between both fungi and fertilization management and previous crops stubble are presented. Germination of seeds planted by farmers was studied and some considerations about their vigor are made

Pattern Recognition of GC-FID Profiles of Volatile Compounds in Brandy de Jerez Using a Chemometric Approach Based on Their Instrumental Fingerprints

Brandy de Jerez is a unique spirit produced in Southern Spain under Protected Geographical Indication “Brandy de Jerez” (PGI). Two key factors for the production of quality brandies are the original wine spirit and its aging process. They are significantly conditioned by specific variables related to the base wine and the distillation method employed to produce the wine spirit used to obtain a finally aged brandy. This final beverage is therefore strongly influenced by its production process. The chromatographic instrumental fingerprints (obtained by GC FID) of the major volatile fraction of a series of brandies have been examined by applying a chemometric approach based on unsupervised (hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis) and supervised pattern recognition tools (partial least squares–discriminant analysis and support vector machine). This approach was able to identify the fermentation conditions of the original wine, the distillation method used to produce the wine spirit, and the aging process as the most influential factors on the volatile profil

Acute stress assessment using infrared thermography in fattening rabbits reacting to handling under winter and summer conditions

Aim of study: This study assesses acute stress by measuring, through infrared thermography in summer and winter, the temperature of the eye, outer ear, inner ear and nose in 40 fattening rabbits before and after handling.Area of study: Seville (Spain).Material and methods: Body thermographic temperatures were recorded during a 38-day fattening period twice weekly and twice a day, before and after the handler held the rabbits in their arms for one minute. Ambient temperature and relative humidity were also recorded, and their influence on body temperatures was assessed. For each anatomical part, the variation of the temperature between the handled and undisturbed rabbit, and the differential temperature between the anatomical part in the undisturbed rabbit and the ambient temperature were calculated.Main results: The variation in temperatures between handled and undisturbed rabbits ranged from 0.25±0.041 ºC for eye to 3.09±0.221 ºC for outer ear in summer and -0.41±0.182 ºC for nose to 2.09±0.178 ºC for outer ear in winter. The day of the fattening period influenced all the temperature traits during summer and winter, except for the inner ear in winter. In summer, unlike winter, the temperature variation at the end of fattening period between handled and undisturbed rabbits was lower than at weaning (-0.04 to 1.94 ºC vs. 0.54 to 5.52 ºC, respectively). The temperatures in undisturbed rabbits were correlated with ambient temperature.Research highlights: Measuring body temperature with infrared thermography is a useful tool to evaluate acute stress in handled rabbits, with the inner ear and eye the most reliable body parts for measuring it