THE IMPACT OF ULTRASOUND TREATMENT ON THE QUALITY OF DIFFERENT WINE VARIETIES.

The aim of the present study was to characterize the quality of four varieties of wines obtained from grapes of Vrancea area: Feteasca Alba (FA), Tamaioasa Romaneasca (TR), Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) and Muscat Hamburg (MH) ultrasonicated (US) at different times (10 and 30 minutes), in terms of physico-chemical and sensory properties. The sensory characteristics (clarity, color, aroma, taste) and the physicochemical properties (density, sugar and alcohol content, pH, acidity, electrical conductivity, turbidity) were determinated on must and wine samples. Sonicated wine (energy intake in liquid) gives a more uniform degree of dispersion to the components, which improves the taste and quality (intensification of the color, flavor, and taste of the wine by extracting valuable ingredients from grape seeds and skin, such as polyphenolic substances), but also accelerates its maturation. The results revealed that the ultrasonic samples had a lower fermentation rate due to the inactivation of the yeasts. The wines have a more intense color than the untreated samples, results also related by physico-chemical parameters tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]