Quality characteristics of white wine: The short- and long-term impact of high power ultrasound processing

This research aimed to analyze the effects of ultrasound on the quality characteristics of white wine when processed by two different systems, i.e., ultrasonic bath and ultrasonic probe. In this regard, the multivariate statistical analysis and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques were used. Additionally, the efficiency of high power ultrasound (HPU) combined with sulfite and glutathione (GSH) treatments was explored during 18 months of bottle storage. Regarding ultrasonic bath experiment, the higher bath temperature caused the degradation of volatile compounds, precisely esters and higher alcohols, while the ultrasound effect on phenolic composition was much less pronounced. Interestingly, a combination of larger probe diameter and higher ultrasound amplitude showed a milder effect on phenolic and volatile composition in ultrasonic probe experiment. Both, ultrasonic bath and probe experiments did not cause great changes in the color properties. Moreover, implemented ANN models for flavan-3-ols, higher alcohols and esters resulted in the highest prediction values. HPU processing after 18 months of storage did not affect wine color. However, it modified phenolic and volatile composition, with greater effect in wines with lower concentration of antioxidants. In addition, there was no significant difference in the phenolic and volatile composition among sonicated low-sulfite-GSH wine and the one with standard-sulfite content. Therefore, a combined HPU and low-sulfite-GSH treatment might be a promising method for production of low-sulfite wines.