Enhancement of aromatic and sensory profile of jujube wines fermented with fresh Zizyphus jujuba cv. Muzao at the white-ripe period

In this paper, fresh Muzao (Zizyphus jujuba cv. Muzao) at full-red and white-ripe periods were used as raw materials to brew low-alcohol jujube wines directly without cooking or extraction. The results showed that the contents of total acid, total phenolics, and total tannin of white-ripe jujube wines (WRJW) were significantly higher than that of full-red jujube wines (FRJW) under the same ratio of jujube fruit/water (P < 0.05). When the ratio of jujube fruit to water increased from 1:1 to 1:5, the total esters contents of WRJW increased from 2261.56 μg L−1 to 3671.51 μg L−1, but decreased in FRJW. Especially, the contents of ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate, and isoamyl caprylate in WRJW (1:5) were significantly higher than in other wine samples (P < 0.05). These three esters with a variety of aroma description characteristics can give jujube wine a more complex flavour. The sensory evaluation also showed that the WRJW (1:5) had the highest score. This wine had the following characteristics: clear and transparent, light yellow, pure elegant fruit and wine aroma, pleasant fragrance, harmonious wine body, fresh taste, sweet and sour, with typical characteristics of jujube wine. The research results can provide a theoretical basis and technical reference for the industrial production of high-quality jujube wine.