Recent Advances in Postharvest Technology of the wine Grape to improve the wine Aroma.

BACKGROUND: Postharvest techniques are widely used for the handling and storage of fresh horticultural crops. Some of these crops are interesting for use with wine grapes to improve the quality of wine. In this review, we consider the postharvest techniques that are already commercially used in wine sector and others that may be significant in inducing or extracting the aroma from grapes to produce high-quality wines.

RESULTS: Precooling consists of rapidly lowering the grape temperature, which allows the preservation/increase of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We also discuss sustainability. Partial dehydration consists of the partial removal of water from grapes, and if a suitable environment is adopted, it can be used to produce and extract berry VOCs. As a solid, carbon dioxide is used in wine processing for the rapid cooling of grapes, and as a gas, it is used for carbonic maceration. Ozone has been used for sanitation purposes in wineries for a long time, but more recently, it has been used to produce wine without sulfite addition and to increase the aromatic quality of wine grapes. Ethylene application is not used commercially for wine grapes, but promising results in terms of phenolic extraction and aromatic changes in grapes are discussed. A comparison among the proposed techniques is reported in terms of grape aromatic quality and process features.

CONCLUSIONS: The proposed techniques could help a winemaker maintain or induce aromatic compounds in grape berries before the vinification process. The choice depends on the desired wine andeconomic consistency.