Determination of home-made wine selected parameters and study of honey addition impact on pro-healthy components content

Abstract

The chemical characteristic of home-made wine, based on the vinification process of Maréchal Foch grapes with minimal intervention, was discussed. The addition of honey in the vinification process has been studied to improve the parameters of the pro-health properties of wine. Assays of antioxidant capacity, pH, colour intensity, total acidity, histamine, tyramine, tryptamine and phenylethylamine contents were carried out during the fermentation, maturation and storage processes. Moreover, the discussed above and selected oenological and quality parameters (organic acids, metals, total and free sulphur dioxide, alcohol content) of obtained wines were compared with commercial wines. Obtained results of allergenic compounds (SO2 and histamine) showed a significantly lower level for home-made wines. The presence of honey during the fermentation process significantly improved the antioxidant parameters, titratable acidity, and influenced the final product colour intensity and colour brilliance. The obtained data show that home-produced wine seems to be a valuable alternative to traditional commercial production due to the lack of chemical additives and potentially allergenic substances in the presence of compounds that enhance human health. Moreover, minimal intervention during fermentation, no filtering step, no chemical additives, processing aids and clarifying substances suggest that home-made wine can be considered natural.