Study of colour and phenolic compounds in two models of oxidative ageing for sherry type white wines

Sherry type white wines were subjected to oxidative ageing in wooden casks and closed stainless steel tanks the temperature in which was set in two consecutive steps. The wine in the casks were kept at alternating temperatures of 15 and 30 °C for 71 weeks and then at a constant level of 30 °C for a further 33 weeks. On the other hand, the wine in the stainless steel tanks was kept under periodic saturation with oxygen at a constant temperature of 20 °C for 71 weeks and then at 30 °C for another 38. Based on the results, the oxidative ageing model in wooden casks was more efficient than the industrial practice in order to shortening the ageing. For the wine aged in tanks, only the wine browning rate at 30 °C was similar to those observed in the casks at the two temperature regimes tried. This suggests that browning of the wines is more strongly dependent on the ageing temperature than on the phenols supplied by the cask wood.