The Combined Effects of Storage Temperature and Packaging on the Sensory, Chemical, and Physical Properties of a Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

Abstract

A Californian Cabernet Sauvignon was stored for 6 months at three different constant temperatures to study the combined effects of storage temperature and packaging configuration. Glass bottles with natural cork, synthetic cork, and screw cap closure, as well as two Bag-in-Box treatments, were used in the experiment. A trained sensory panel was able to detect significant changes in aroma, flavor, taste, mouthfeel, and color attributes among the samples, differences that were found also with various chemical and physical measurements (volatile profile, polyphenol pattern, enological parameters, color space). Additionally, two commonly used polyphenol assays were compared to each other in terms of their ability to detect the changes in the polyphenol profile. Generally, sample changes were more pronounced due to the different storage temperatures, with 30 sensory attributes differing significantly among the three different storage temperatures, while only 17 sensory attributes showed a significant packaging effect. With increasing storage temperature the packaging effect became more pronounced, resulting in the largest changes in the Bag-in-Box samples stored at the highest temperature of 40 °C. At the highest storage temperature, all wines showed oxidized characters, independent of the wine packaging configurations, but to a varying degree. Generally, wines that received highest oxygen amounts and storage temperatures were much lighter, less red, and more brown-yellow at the end of the 6-month storage period, compared to their counterparts stored at 10 °C. These changes in color and polyphenols, respectively, were also detected with the two spectrophotometric assays. With increasing storage temperature both assays measured reduced concentrations in total phenols and total anthocyanins, while total tannins, degree of ionized anthocyanins, and color density increased. Various volatile compounds differed significantly among the samples, with largest relative concentration changes in acetates, organic acids, and alcohols, in good agreement with previous literature reports, with some being well correlated to specific sensory attributes too; for example, various acetates correlated to cherry and fruit aromas and flavors. The study shows that storage at elevated temperatures could be a valuable tool for wine packaging screening and testing new and improved wine packaging types under the worst conditions, which are unfortunately not unrealistic.

Exploring the effect of elevated storage temperature on wine composition

“…A study to investigate the combined effect of storage temperature (10, 20 and 40°C) and packaging configuration in Cabernet Sauvignon was described by Hopfer et al. (). After 6 months, several volatile compounds varied significantly between samples with increasing storage temperature with the largest observed changes in acetates and alcohols, with some compounds increasing and others decreasing.…”

Evolution of phenolic compounds and sensory in bottled red wines and their co-development

“…However, there are also some different viewpoints. For example, Hopfer et al thought that the changes in yellowness and hue value, expressed as b ⁄ and h values, greatly differed amongst the wines mainly owing to the difference in the bottleaging temperature rather than the sealing systems (Hopfer et al, 2013).…”

“…However, it also has been reported that synthetic plugs effectively prevented the generation of 'corked taste' and provided white wine with fruity aromas (Francis, 2003). Besides bottle stoppers, storage temperature also can cause some differences in aroma, mouthfeel, and colour of bottled wines (Hopfer, Buffon, Ebeler, & Heymann, 2013).…”

New Trends in Beverage Packaging Systems: A Review

“…In the case of wine, a large number of studies have described the modification and/or evolution of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and sulfites inside the packaging [26]; the oxidative stability of the product [27]; the presence of aromatic compounds [15,18,28,29]; and changes in sensory, chemical [30] or physical properties [29,31]. Moreover, overall mechanisms involved after packaging such as chemical reactions (esterification, hydrolysis, and oxidation), aging, and possible transfer through the packaging or the cap that can produce any loss, increase, appearance or disappearance of aromatic compounds are reported.…”