In this work, the study of a particular step of Madeira's winemaking process called estufagem with a plastic optical fibre sensor is presented. Madeira wine is a type of fortified wine produced in the Madeira island of Portugal. The characteristic aroma and exceptional stability of these wines result from the singular used winemaking method that consists in the estufagem where the wine is heated up to 55 ºC for at least 3 months, among other steps. This heating based process can produce significant changes in wine colour, aroma and taste. By measuring the transmitted optical power through the wine in three different cells at three different wavelengths it is possible to monitor wine colour evolution during the estufagem. The plastic optical fibres offer easy non-skilled handling, ruggedness and low cost, overcoming the difficulties of the electronic and conventional systems and improving the time of the laboratory offline methods. Results show that it is possible to distinguish the different Madeira wines (from sweet to dry wines) obtained based on different wine grapes as well as the colour evolution during the diverse months of the estufagem.
Madeira wine is a fortified wine produced in Madeira Island, Portugal. Its characteristics are strongly influenced by the winemaking method used which includes a typical and unique step called estufagem. This process consists on heating the wine up to 55 ºC for at least 3 months. In this paper, the characterization of the sensor for the pilot scale facility of estufagem installed in Madeira University is presented, being the device an optimization of a previous version. The response of the sensor was tested towards colour and refractive index, showing a good performance. Madeira wine with different estufagem times was also analysed.
Hollow core negative curvature fibres (NCFs) are a relatively new class of microstructured optical fibre with potential applications in areas such as the delivery of high power laser light and gas sensing. For sensing, it is necessary for the measurand to interact with the guided mode. To facilitate this, a novel femtosecond laser-based machining protocol has been developed that allows the precision sculpting of access slots into the NCF core along the length of the fibre. The process is a direct-write process using a digitally defined scanning strategy with no need for physical masks or additional processing such as wet etchants and/or focussed ion beam machining. Due to the inherent flexibility of the machining strategy and the high level of control over the depth of material removal, it is likely that this new technique will be transferable to a wide range of microstructured fibres.
Abstract-Madeira wine vinification process has been mostly empiric and requiring further studies. The present paper describes the existing pilot plant facility in Madeira University, with the installed controlled systems and safety devices. An advanced multi-parameter platform for real time monitoring and interactive data visualization is described and its potential use demonstrated.
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