Investigation of aroma carryover risk in a pilot plant and on industrial scale when bottling aromatised and subsequent regular wines on the same filling line

Abstract

Aromatised wine-based beverages and regular wines are commonly bottled on the same bottling line. Sealings installed in the bottling line absorb added aroma compounds from the aromatised wine-based beverages and a subsequent release of the absorbed aroma compounds from the sealings was monitored during cleaning sequences and in subsequent products. Such unintentional carryover is associated with the risk of violating the legal ban of any aromatisation of regular wine. If cleaning is carried out according to good manufacturing practice (GMP) and traces of aroma compounds in the subsequently bottled wine show no sensory significance, this unintended aroma carryover will be considered by the German Federal Ministry of Nutrition and Agriculture as technically unavoidable and has no legal consequences. The risk of aroma absorption and aroma carryover have been investigated in different foods (orange juice, milk, and wine) and simulated in model systems using a beaker, but no real bottling scenario had been investigated till now.To fill the knowledge gap we investigated the potential aroma carryover in a pilot plant, and in two different wineries during three bottlings of aromatised wine-based beverages and subsequent regular sparkling wine. Monitoring of installed sealings revealed the uptake of seven aroma compounds and further release of aroma compounds during a recommended cleaning sequence and subsequent contact with wine. A sensory significant aroma carryover into the subsequent wine that had been circulating for 24 hours in the pilot plant was observed only for α-ionone, which exceeded its odour detection threshold in white wine after 8 hours. Regarding the three bottlings of aromatised wine-based beverages and the subsequent sparkling wine, we recorded the uptake of γ-decalactone, eugenol, and trans-cinnamaldehyde in the sealings, and their further diminishment during the implemented cleaning of the wineries and subsequent bottling of a sparkling wine. During the short residence time of the product in the bottling line, no sensory and analytical differentiation of the pre-bottled and bottled sparkling wines was observed.