Physical-Chemical Evaluation of Wines Subjected to Gamma Irradiation for Aging

Abstract

The wine is a beverage made from the fermentation of sugars contained in grapes or grape juice, using yeast. Wines can be classified according to the amount of sugar they contain: dry, soft or sweet. Depending on the need for aging, they may be classified as young or aged. Modern methods of aging use gamma irradiation. There are several reasons for these types of procedure in wines, among them are: sterilization of the wort, changes in sensory characteristics of the wine, and accelerated aging. In this study, samples of soft red wine were obtained in the city of São Pedro in the local market, all bottles being of the same batch. The samples and the control were directly irradiated with gamma irradiation in polyethylene bags with doses of 1KGy and 3KGy, at a rate of 0.396kGy/h. The evaluation parameters were tartaric acid, brix, pH, alcohol content and color. For statistical purposes, the Tukey test at 5% significance level was used. From the results obtained, it may be concluded that by the physicochemical analysis for soft red wines the best dose was 6kGy and the color and the pH are presented as possible indicators of aging.