Effect of ultrasound irradiation on the evolution of color properties and major phenolic compounds in wine during storage

•The effect of ultrasound on the evolution of wine color and phenols was studied.•The evolutions were similar in ultrasound treated and untreated wines during storage.•In comparison, ultrasound accelerated the evolution of color and phenolic acids.•Ultrasound has a great potential in speeding up the aging of wine.

In this paper, the effects of ultrasound irradiation were investigated on the evolution of color properties and major phenolic compounds during wine storage. The results indicate that the changing trends of color parameters are very similar in both the ultrasonically-treated and untreated wines, meanwhile the evolutions of malvidin-3-O-glucoside, monomeric flavan-3-ols and phenolic acids also demonstrate some similar patterns in all wines during storage, respectively. In summary, the ultrasound irradiation does not only temporally influence the color characteristics and phenolic compounds of wine, but also have a longer effect on their evolutions during wine storage. Furthermore, the ultrasonically-treated wine had a quicker changing trend than that of the untreated wine regarding the studied parameters. All these results indicate that the ultrasound might be as a feasible and promising novel technology for wineries to produce more red wines with the similar quality as the traditionally-aged wine in a shorter time.