This study investigated the effect of cork stoppers and screw cap in the aromatic profile of a sparkling wine with second fermentation and aging in bottle. The yeast lees contact time was 94 months.
3.1. Effect of Extraction Methodology
Two extraction methods (HP-SPME and TD) were used to obtain volatile compounds of sparkling wine with second fermentation and aged for 94 months. The obtained chromatograms of sparkling wine bottle-aging closured with closure A and isolated by TD and HP-SPME were showed in
Figure 2. A summary of the data obtained by both extraction methodologies is presented in
Table A1 (
Appendix B). Briefly, the number of identified compounds extracted from TD (65) was slightly higher than HP-SPME (53).
These results show that both methodologies are suitable for the analysis of volatile compounds in sparkling wine. SPME and TD have been successfully used for the identification of aromatic compounds in wine [25,26,36,40,53-56]and sparkling wine [
23,
24,
57]. Therefore, TD required 30 ml of sample for extraction while HP-SPME needed 10 ml.
Furthermore, TD is a time-consuming process (2h) and requires temperature for volatile compounds extraction. Both were based on the equilibrium partitioning of the volatiles between solution (or sparkling wine) and gas phase. Then, the solutes are extracted from a liquid phase, of an aqueous matrix or wine and migrate into a polymer phase: fit inside the needle of a syringe-like device in the case of HP-SPME or as a filling of a desorption tube in the case of TD. Then, in the case of TD, is done a thermal desorption step process followed by a preconcentration step (TD) using a cryotrap. The most important disadvantage of HP-SPME is the lack of sensitivity [
41]. In this study, TD extraction was designed to the aim of benefit from the higher amount of sorbent and the trap focusing for the purpose of increase the sensitivity.
The extracted compounds are classified into families according to its chemical nature as acids, alcohols, alkanes, esters, ethers, ketones and other.
Figure 3 shows the percentages of sparkling wine families of volatile compounds extracted by HP-SPME and TD considering all analyzed closures. As can be seen, some differences were observed in terms of percentages of the major families of volatiles. HP-SPME allowed for more effective extraction of esters considering both the percentage of area (66.1%) and the number of compounds (19). Furthermore, HP-SPME showed higher proportion of ketones (1.8%) and other (26.2%). On the contrary, the proportion of alcohols (40.6%), ether (17.0%), alkanes (2.6%), terpenes (3.0%) and acids (4.0%) were higher in TD extracts than HP-SPME (1.9%, 2.0%, 0.9%, 0.1% and 0.8%, respectively).
Ethyl esters of aliphatic acids are an important group of compounds in the volatile profile of sparkling wine [
23]. Although HP-SPME allowed the extraction of greater number of esters, TD and HP-SPME were suitable methods for determining commonly esters such as methyl 2,4-dimethylhexanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate, ethyl arachidate or ethyl hexanoate in sparkling wine samples (
Table A1,
Appendix B). Other esters compounds like extracted using HP-SPME and TD were Ethyl 9-decenoate, Diethyl succinate and Ethyl butyrate. All these compounds have already been identified in sparkling wines [23,25,58-60]. Diethyl succinate is a post fermentation volatile formed during aging of sparkling wines in contact with lees from the second fermentation [
23]. For this reason, this compound is a marker of the evolution of sparkling wines during cellar storage [
24,
25]. Overall, representative esters were detected by both extraction methodologies but, HP-SPME was the fastest and easiest technique to extract them
Alcohols were the second most abundant family with the highest levels of Isoamyl alcohol in the case of TD extraction and Phenylethyl Alcohol in the case of HP-SPME. According to [
59], Phenylethyl alcohol has influence on the sweet, rose and honey aroma structure of sparkling wines. Both higher alcohols have already been identified in sparkling wines[
59]. Other representative alcohols such as 1-hexanol and 1-butanol, which are mostly produced during the pre-fermentation wine production process, were extracted using TD. 1-hexanol is a representative alcoholcharacterized by “green” and “herbaceous” notes.
Fatty acids probably being connected with the different grape’s origin and/or the winemaking conditions used[
60]. The most representative acids identified were different by using TD or HP- HP-SPME. Octanoic and Decanoic acid were obtained by both methods but with the highest percentage of area detected in sparkling wines analyzed by HP-SPME (
Table A1,
Appendix B). We found that some compounds such as Succinic acid and Dimethyl caffeic acid were only detected by HP-SPME and others like Alkynyl Stearic Acid, 3-Hydroxydodecanoic acid, Acetic acid or Aminomethanesulfonic acid were identified using TD.
In the case of ether compounds, 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-methyloxirane and 1-Methyl-1-silacyclopentan-1-ol were identified. This last was only detected using TD. Ethers are a type of volatile compound that significantly contribute to the intricate aroma of wine. They are mainly generated during the alcoholic fermentation but additionally, these compounds can also develop during the wine aging process as it undergoes chemical reactions in barrels or bottles[
61]. Although ethers are less prevalent than esters, their presence enhances the wine's aromatic complexity, offering scents that span from herbaceous to floral and spicy. Their interaction with other volatile and non-volatile elements in the wine further shapes their sensory perception and overall impact.
Ketones are an important class of volatile compounds that contribute significantly to the aroma profile of wine. Their presence plays an important role in the complexity of wine's sensory attribute although its concentration is lower compared to other volatiles like esters and alcohols. Ketones are primarily formed during the fermentation processes but also in aging step[
62].
HP-SPME was the best method to extract alpha-ionone or a C13-norisoprenoid that is known for its contribution to the aroma of fruits. Other ketones such as caprolactone or 2,3,4,5,6,6-hexamethylcyclohexa-2,4-dien-1-one was also detected using HP-SPME. On the contrary, 2,2-dimethyl-5-phenylfuran-3-one was extracted using TD. Lactones were also detected in sparkling wines due to aging process because they are generated by hydrolysis of the precursors
Alkanes are naturally present in the waxy cuticle of grape skins, and it can also form during the fermentation process because yeast metabolism can produce them as secondary metabolites or during the aging of wine due to chemical reactions that can generate or modify alkane compounds. The number and nature of extracted alkanes depends on the extraction methodology. Levels of Pentacosane, Nonacosane, Tetratriacontane, Hexatriacontane, 3-choropentane and Vinyl decanoate was obtained using HP-SPME. On the other hand, n-Hexane, Octathiocane, 5-methyl-Hexadecane, Hexadecane and Octadecane and was extracted by TD method. Alkanes typically have a relatively low impact on the aroma profile of wine due to their low volatility. However, they can contribute to the background complexity and texture of the wine.
Terpene compounds were similar determined by HP-SPME and TD. These family of compounds is a large group of wine aroma compounds characterized by floral aroma. It seems that these groups of compounds are produced during the pressing of grape and settling process. Squalene is a natural triterpene widely distributed in nature and it was extracted using both methodologies. Therefore, TD method allowed the extraction of another triterpene, Friedelin. This last is a compound of the triterpenic fraction of cork, and it is described as a precursor of bioactive components for biomedical applications [
63]. D-limonene or a monoterpene was also obtained using TD as in the case of TDN or a C13-norisoprenoid. According to Torrens et al. 2010 [
26], TDN originates from carotenoid degradation, and it is influenced by the ageing process linked to acid-catalyzed reactions. TDN together with diethyl succinate and vitispirane, can discriminate sparkling wines aged >20 months according to Francioli et al. 2003 [
64]. But, beyond this, due to the relatively low concentrations of these compounds and the complexity of the matrix, their analyses require a previous fractionation and separation of volatile terpenes or non-polar fraction from polar fraction [
65].
There are several compounds classified as other. HP-SPME allowed the extraction of most of them such as Lactamide or Dimethylamine. Caprylic anhydride was obtained by both methods. Some of them has not been described previously.
According to our results, HS-SPME may a useful extraction method for esters, ketones and other compounds while for the extraction of alcohol, acid, ether, alkanes and terpenes is better the TD methodology. It was initially expected that the TD extraction is showing more efficient due to the advantages mentioned earlier. Considering those results, a first step with the aim of the optimization of TD methodology would be necessary to gear its strengths. Some desorption parameters such as desorption time, desorption temperature, trap low cryo-temperature or trap high temperature and its associations would affect the response of the volatile compounds [
43].
[
23] Considered that HP-SPME allow the extraction of the most representative polar compounds of a sparkling wine. In this study, HP-SPME allowed the extraction of some acetate, Ethyl and isoamyl esters of high molecular weight that seem to be typical aromas of sparkling wines of low ageing time. At the same time, HP-SPME is a useful tool for the detection of diethyl succinate, TDN and hexanol or compounds related to autolysis process according to [
64]and, at the same time, compounds inherent in the bouquet of long aged sparkling wines.
3.2. Aromatic Compounds Versus Type of Closure
The behavior of the cork stoppers and screw caps used in bottle-aging after second fermentation of sparkling wine samples are shown in
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Percentages of major families of volatile compounds extracted by HP-SPME and TD (combined) in samples of sparkling wine with bottle-aging after second fermentation using cork stoppers and screw cap.
Figure 4.
Percentages of major families of volatile compounds extracted by HP-SPME and TD (combined) in samples of sparkling wine with bottle-aging after second fermentation using cork stoppers and screw cap.
Esters was the most abundant family of compounds in both types of closures. Levels of some families of volatile compounds such alcohols, acids and other are those which have the wide differences between the type of closures.
As previously mentioned, volatile esters are one of the most important family of compounds because had an important role in volatile profile structure [
59] and, contribute to the presence of fruity and floral-like notes in the sparkling wine aroma [
1,
2,
18] and it appeared that there is the result of the autolysis of the yeast. Some factors such as the yeast strain or fermentation conditions (temperature, nutrient content, or availability of oxygen) have already been linked to the formation of volatile esters [
1,
3]. Therefore, the type of closure would be related to the preservation of the levels of ester compounds in sparkling wine improving the shelf life of the product. The percentage of ester area is similar in both closures. Among esters presented in the analyzed sparkling wines, Methyl 2,4-dimethylhexanoate was the most abundant ester and it was only detected in screw cap closures. Methyl esters in wine are related to yeast fermentation [
66]. Ethyl acetate and ethyl esters with high molecular weight such as Ethyl octanoate (floral), Ethyl hexanoate (fruity), Ethyl decanote (floral), Ethyl arachidate and Diethyl succinate (overripe), were detected in all samples. According to [
66], these compounds can show synergistic effect even at low amounts. In the case of the effect of the type of closure, [
18] described the presence of more amounts of several ethyl esters in sparkling wine closured using cork stoppers instead of a microagglomerated stoppers. In the case of diethyl succinate is considering as a marker, mainly connected to the period of cava storage in the cellar. This compound is defined as fruity or floral by tasters and is a marker of the evolution of sparkling wine because it is a post fermentative volatile formed during the aging of sparkling wine in contact with lees from second fermentation [
1,
23]. Overall, diethyl succinate, TDN and hexanol seem to be compounds inherent in the bouquet of long aged sparkling wines [
24,
25]. The first two were detected in higher amount in cork stoppers than screw cap closures (
Table A1,
Appendix B). Finally, sparkling wines acetates like Ethyl acetate decrease along ageing time of sparkling wine in contact with lees [
25]. However, a higher amount of this acetate was detected in screw cap closures.
In the case of cork closures, the second most abundant family of compounds was alcohols which are related with yeast metabolism [
1]. Sparkling wine alcohols such as Isoamyl alcohol and Phenylethyl Alcohol were detected in both closures. This last has influence on the sweet, rose and honey aroma structure of sparkling wines [26,67-68] and Isoamyl alcohol can influence wine aroma by adding “alcohol” and “nail polish” notes [
59]. 1-hexanol was identified in both stoppers but with higher amounts in screw cap closures. In the case of sparkling wines elaborated by traditional method, the alcohols augmented after alcoholic fermentation and remained almost constant after second fermentation and through aging. However, in the case of certain alcohol like 1-hexanol, tended to increase being a suitable ageing marker as mentioned previously. [
18] described that the levels of 1-hexanol was also significantly influence by the type of closure in a sparkling wine. In accordance with these authors, the lower levels of 1-hexanol in sparkling wine sealed with cork stoppers may be due to its oxidation to 3-hexenal but this aldehyde was not detected in the volatile composition of our samples under our experimental conditions. 1-butanol was only obtained in screw cap samples. According to [
69], 1-hexanol contributing to the aroma of grass just cut and 1-butanol to medicinal aroma of wine.
Concerning the acids, the most common were detected in both groups. However, the most representative like octanoic and decanoic acid, have been detected in higher amounts in sparkling wines closured using screw cap. These acids, depending on the concentration, can have a negative role in the development of wine sensory profile [
26,
67]. Among ethers compounds, Oxirane, 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-methyl- was identified in both groups of closures being more abundant in screw cap closures (
Table A1 (
Appendix B). 1-Methyl-1-silacyclopentan-1-ol was only detected in screw cap closures. Alkanes and Ketones were determined in both closures, with cork stoppers being slightly higher than screw cap.
Aziridinylethylamine and Hydroxyurea were presented only in screw cap closures in higher amounts. This first is related to fishy flavor [
70]. Corlumine, N-Methylcalycotomine, Phenol or Emulphor were detected in screw cap closures, while 12-O-Acetylingol 8-tiglate, 2-Myristynoyl pantetheine, 6,7-Dimethoxy-1,4-dimethyl-1,3-quinoxalinedithione or Longifolenaldehyde were identified in cork stoppers. Also, highest amount of Dimethylamine or a volatile amine with secondary amino groups [
71] was detected in screw cap closures.
3.3. Effect of the Type of Closure through Compositional Data Analysis
In accordance with the obtained results, the type of closure used during second fermentation can affect the aroma composition of obtained sparkling wine. This effect may be done by the desorption of volatile compounds from closures into wine [
8,
18] or can be associated with the degree of oxidation. In the case of still wine, [
72] described those wines sealed with different types of closures for four years differed significantly in their content of some volatile chemicals such as 1-butanol, 2-phenylethanol, 2-nonanol or Ethyl decanoate. Furthermore, [
73] found that eight volatile chemicals (Isoamyl acetate, Ethyl decanoate, Nonanoic acid, n-decanoic acid, Undecanoic acid, 2-furancarboxylic acid, Dodecanoic acid and Phenylacetaldehyde) contributed to the separation of wine closures and were associated with the degree of oxidation of Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
The impact of six different closures used in bottle-aging after second fermentation on the volatile composition of sparkling wine has been evaluated using compositional analysis of a data matrix that included the compounds extracted by HP-SPME. First, two groups were analyzed: cork stoppers (cork 1 and cork 2) and screw cap closures (from CC1 to CC4).
We have a compositional data set with n=37 stoppers (n=13 group cork and n=24 group screw cap) and D=57 volatile compounds. Due to the substantial number of zeros, we first have selected the volatile compounds detected in more than 5 stoppers, that is, with a percentage of zeros below 80%. This has reduced the number of parts of our composition to D=16 whose names are listed in
Table 3. Additionally, the corresponding percentage of replaced zeros and the notation used in the Figures to avoid the lengthy names of certain compound are also provided. According to the nature of these zeros the logratio EM imputation algorithm is applied [
52].
The values of the whole center and subgroups center (cork and screw cap closures) are presented in
Table A2 (
Appendix B). Overall, the most abundant part is Ethyl hexanoate
, which is also observed in the screw subgroup. However, in the cork subgroup, the most abundant part is Ethyl octanoate
. Both are ester compounds, the most abundant family of compounds detected in sparkling wine samples (
Figure 2 and
Figure 3). For better understand these results, the geometric mean bar plot comparing the compositional center of the entire sample with the compositional center of cork stoppers and screw cap subgroups is shown in
Figure 5. The volatile compounds with a larger relative difference compared to the global center were Dimethylamine
, and Ethyl octanoate
. It is clear from
Figure 5 that the proportion amount of Dimethylamine
was higher in screw cap closures than cork stoppers group relative to the entire of the sample. Dimethylamine originates mainly from the decarboxylation of amino acids during different vinification stages and once high concentrations of amines become difficult to eliminate, it is important to control their formation. Amines that contain secondary amino groups such as dimethylamine, can form nitrosamines or a hazardous substance [
41]. On the contrary ethyl octanoate
was higher in the cork stopper group. This ester compound is responsible for fruity and floral-like as commented previously. A similar pattern was observed for other volatile compounds such as isoamyl alcohol
, lactamide
and 4-(2,3,6-Trimethylphenyl)-1,3-butadiene
. On the other hand, the barplot suggests that the values of Octanoic acid
and alpha-Ionone
parts are very similar in the two subgroups.
Non-parametric MANOVA [
74] contrast applied to the clr-scores data set confirms significant differences (p<0.05) between the centers of cork stopper and screw cap closures. In this case, the homogeneity cannot be accepted but the group screw cap has large dispersion and large number of samples, and the test became conservative[
75]. For comparing the centers of the two groups, the boostrap 95% percentil interval for each part is provided (
Figure 6).
Figure 6 shows that only intervals of parts 1, 1, 5-Trimethyl-1, 2-dihydronaphthalene
and Octanoic acid
have the zero value (horizontal dashed line) which means no differences between the two types of closures. All the other parts do not contain the zero value indicating differences, the larger ones in parts Dimethylamine
and ethyl octanoate
as were also observed in
Figure 5.
The variability of the data is displayed in
Table A3 (
Appendix B), within the variation matrix, illustrating both the variance and the mean of each pairwise logratio. The highest variances are highlighted using a red-shaded background, while the lowest are indicated with a blue-shaded background. Additionally, the total variance and the variance of each clr component is also showed. Globally, the total variance is 51.13. Screw cap closures exhibit higher total variance (46.46) compared to cork stoppers (13.04) showing heterogeneity between groups. Examining paiwiselogratios it becomes evident that both globally and within each subgroup, the logratios with the highest variance are those containing the Dimethylamine
part. However, in screw cap subgroup, logratios containing the Carbon dioxide
part also display high variability. Furthermore, in both subgroups and globally, the logratios involving Phenylethyl Alcohol
and alpha-Ionone
parts exhibit low variability.
Figure 5.
Geometric mean bar plot comparing the compositional mean of the entire sample with the compositional mean of aromatic compounds subgroups for cork stoppers and screw cap closures.
Figure 5.
Geometric mean bar plot comparing the compositional mean of the entire sample with the compositional mean of aromatic compounds subgroups for cork stoppers and screw cap closures.
Figure 6.
Bootstrap percentile confidence intervals for log-ratio difference between centers of cork stoppers and screw cap closures groups. Filled circles are the log-ratio difference for the centers. Vertical dashed lines are the bootstrap 95% percentile intervals.
Figure 6.
Bootstrap percentile confidence intervals for log-ratio difference between centers of cork stoppers and screw cap closures groups. Filled circles are the log-ratio difference for the centers. Vertical dashed lines are the bootstrap 95% percentile intervals.
Figure 7 shows the compositional clr-biplot, with cork closures in red and screw closures in blue, simplifying comparison between the subgroups. The biplot retains a relevant portion of the total variability (78.34%) ensuring a high quality of the representation. Using
Figure 7, the conclusion mirrors earlier findings, highlighting a clear separation between subgroups and the higher variability of the screw cap closures group (blue). We can see volatile compounds characteristics associated with cork closures such as
,
and
, as well as other compounds characteristics linked to screw cap closures such as
and
exhibiting opposite directions relative to PC1 axis.
A second compositional data analysis was carried out using all type of stoppers as subgroups (n=6 for Cork1, CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4 and n=7 for Cork2). The centers of each subgroup, displayed in
Table A4 (
Appendix B), and the geometric mean bar plot in
Figure 8 allow us to compare the compositional mean of the entire sample with the compositional mean of each type of closure subgroups.
Broadly speaking,
Figure 8 shows a similar pattern than
Figure 5. That is, the pattern stated between the two groups of closures in
Figure 5 is respectively reproduced into each set of subgroups. Indeed, the non-parametric MANOVA test applied separately to the subgroups does not allow us to confirm significant differences between the two cork stoppers groups (p= 0.148) and the four screw cap groups (p= 0.377). In this case, the robustness of the test is guaranteed because we have balanced designs [
75]. A visual inspection of
Figure 9, where the first canonical variate retains 84.25% of the variability, allows us to perceive some differences between Agglomerated cork stopper with 31 mm of diameter (cork1) and agglomerated cork stopper with 32 mm of diameter (cork2) groups and between Saranex (CC2) and the other screw caps groups, Polyethylene screw cap (CC1), Daraform (CC3) and Saranex plus araldite (CC4) groups although, a larger dataset is needed to confirm the potential differences.