Influence of Oak Species, Toasting Degree, and Aging Time on the Differentiation of Brandies Using a Chemometrics Approach Based on Phenolic Compound UHPLC Fingerprints

Oak wood is the main material used by coopers to manufacture casks for the aging of spirits or wines. Phenolic compounds are the main components extracted from the wood during spirit aging. In the present study, a chemometric approach based on unsupervised (PCA) and supervised (PLS-DA) pattern recognition techniques has been applied to the chromatographic instrumental fingerprints, obtained by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) at 280 nm, of the phenolic profiles of brandies aged in casks made of different oak wood species. The resulting natural data groupings and the PLS-DA models have revealed that the oak wood species, the toasting level, and the aging time are the most influential factors on the phenolic profile of the final products. Fingerprinting should be considered as a very useful feature, as it represents a considerable advantage, in terms of internal and quality control, for brandy producers.This research has been supported by the University of Cádiz and Bodegas Fundador, S.L.U. (ref.: OT2019/108, OT2020/128, OT2021/076, OT2021/131, and OT2022/080). The authors wish to thank the University of Cádiz and Bodegas Fundador, S.L.U., for the industrial predoctoral contract TDI-8-18, granted to M.G.-C. and the technical support from the SPI of Viticulture and the Agri-food Research Institute (IVAGRO) of the University of Cádiz for the analysis of the samples

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Analytical, Chemometric and Sensorial Characterization of Oloroso and Palo Cortado Sherries during Their Ageing in the <i>Criaderas y Solera</i> 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

Use of Alternative Wood for the Ageing of Brandy de Jerez

The use of alternative types of wood has arisen for the aging of the Brandy de Jerez, on a pilot plant level. In particular, besides the use of American oak, two more types of oak have been studied, French oak and Spanish oak, allowed by the Technical File for the ID Brandy de Jerez, and chestnut, which, though it is not officially allowed, is a type of wood which had been traditionally used in the area for the aging of wines and distillates. All of them have been studied with different toasting levels: Intense toasting and medium toasting. The study of the total phenolic composition (TPI), chromatic characteristics, organic acids, and sensory analysis have proven that chestnut leads to distillates with a higher amount of phenolic compounds and coloring intensity than oak. This behavior is the opposite as regards the toasting of the wood. Among the different types of oak, Spanish oak produces aged distillates with a higher phenolic composition and a higher color intensity. Regarding tasting, the best-assessed samples were those aged with chestnut, French oak, and American oak, and the assessors preferred those who had used a medium toasting level to those with an intense level