Practical investigations
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Hi. I am investigating the best technique to use to measure the alcohol content of a sample of white wine. The techniques being investigated are the density method via steam distillation, back titration and colorimetry. I am then looking at how the alcohol content of wine varies as the wine ages by using the most accurate technique found previously. I was wandering if you could explain to me the process of ageing a bit and also the best way of artificially aging the wine? Many thanks.
Igloo writes ...
You have a good selection of methods to analyse for the alcohol content of white wine. Your question on “ageing” is one which has been asked before, but I can offer no ready solution. The ageing of wine is an extremely complex process involving an enormous range of chemical reactions occurring within the wine, including, for example, esterification and hydrolysis processes. In reality the ageing process is also an extremely slow one, and even in the case of white wine can occur over several years to bring it to maturity.
There is no easy means of speeding things up. In any case, the ageing reactions occur in the absence of air within the bottle. Pouring out the wine and blowing air through it is not an answer, since this will involve aerial oxidation which doesn’t form part of the natural ageing process. Warming the wine up is not an option either, since the more volatile components will escape from the system and alter the relative proportions of the components within the wine.
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updated: 18 December 2007
