Introduction to Wine Laboratory Practices and Procedures Free

The book takes the reader through the science of wine making exploring the chemistry of the grape and how that effects fermentation, through to maturation, bottling and the safety issues surrounding wine production and storage. The author reinforces the readers understanding of the process of wine making by returning to the basic principles of the chemistry involved in fermentation, and exploring well-known assays used to determine the quality characteristics of fermented products. This, together with the effective use of figures and tables, ensures that the book is easy to read and provides enough to equip the reader with an appreciation of the science behind wine making, and the analytical tools required to evaluate the quality characteristics of wine. Although the author does not provide a detailed list of key references at the end of each chapter, commonly used standards and essential references are identified in a bibliography.

Chapter 1 is a useful refresher for the reader to the basic chemistry behind fermentation and the manipulation of chemical compounds in liquid food systems. It is written in a revision aid format which highlights aspects rather than providing in-depth accounts. Areas which are briefly covered include properties of liquids, density and specific gravity of systems, the role of pressure and temperature in liquids, and basic chemical nature of compounds which affect food characteristics such as pH and oxidation.

Chapter 2 provides the reader with an insight into the general safety aspects of handling chemicals, and identifying physical hazards in a food environment. The inclusion of information regarding chemical toxins, storage of chemicals and waste disposal procedures introduces the need for dealing with hazard situations and hazard control practices in a laboratory and working environment. This leads on to Chapter 3 where quality assurance practices are detailed. Starting from the basic concept of quality, the author explains the reasoning behind devising quality assurance practices and ensuring its implementation. The author dedicates a large part of this chapter to understanding the accuracy of assessment techniques and the need to ensure that samples are representative of the material being examined.

Wine production per se starts to be covered from Chapter 4, where the history of wine processing, the development of grape varieties, and the role of appellation of origin are explored. The latter point introduces the differences between wine produced in France (and its regions), Italy, Spain, Germany and other countries exporting wine globally. This is followed by a brief exploration of wine production from the vine to the wine. Chapter 5 expands on the role of the grape, and its stages of maturation, in wine making. The chemical composition of the grape is reviewed in relation to predicting correct harvest times, with a practical discussion on the role of sugar content determination in evaluating potential alcohol content, as well as the estimation of pH, titratable acidity, solid and sugar contents, and sulphur levels.

Fermentation (primary and secondary) is covered in Chapter 6. The focus of the chapter is on understanding the basic principles of fermentation science, and reviewing analytical procedures which can be used to estimate fermentation quality and predict the cessation of fermentation. Chapter 7 explores the role of maturation in developing wine characteristics. This chapter reviews the commonly used forms of maturation and how these procedures can be controlled to ensure optimum organoleptic quality of the wine. The role of fining, filtering and blending of wines are also covered with good use of examples to compare and contrast the use of these procedures.

Chapter 8 concentrates on bottling and packaging technology, giving the reader an overview of cork selection, labelling, bottling sanitation and processes, and quality control. It was surprising that there was no substantive discussion on the comparative benefits of screw cap, or cork alternatives in this chapter, especially in view of trend is away from the traditional cork. Additionally, the chapter would have benefited from a greater discussion of optimising wine storage conditions pre- and post-bottling in relation to monitoring wine quality.

Commonly used analytical procedures are covered in fair detail in Chapter 9. Methods for assessing parameters such as soluble solid content, specific gravity and density, titratable acidity, sulphur dioxide, malic acid and of course alcohol are described. The benefit of this chapter is that the author describes the principle of the tests, details the chemicals and equipment needed and also identifies problems in maintaining the accuracy of the tests and where possible errors may come from. As such, this is a very practical-based section and of value to the reader. The author continues this theme on to Chapter 10 where the area of reagents (composition and usage) is covered. Standard reagent recipes and procedures for preparation are given in brief format, providing a useful reference guide. Additionally, the appendix provides summary information on a range of chemicals used in the production of reagents or during the fermentation process. This section identifies the chemical properties of the ingredients, their toxicity data and the hazards associated with their use. A brief bibliography of references used is supplied at the end of the book to aid the reader research topics in more detail.

The book certainly provides the reader with an introduction to wine making, and its strength lies in the way the author has incorporated laboratory procedures into the chapters to provide a very practical reference. Most of the material is focussed on the small-scale ‘traditional’ wine making procedures. Never-the-less, for those embarking on wine fermentation the book is a useful entry-level text, and should act as a valuable manual to refer to.