Flavoring, vermouth concentrates

The procedures used in winery operations vary greatly, depending on the types of products produced and their market. A small winery producing only one type of red wine may need only a few different analyses. A winery producing grape juice, grape concentrate, table wines, dessert wines, special natural (flavored) wines, vermouth, fruit wines, high-proof spirits, and commercial brandy will require many different types of analyses. 

In California, fortified sweet wines of light color, such as angelica and white port, may be used as a base wine for making sweet vermouth. The desired sugar content is obtained, as necessary, by the addition of grape concentrate or sucrose. The amount of water added as a result may not exceed 10% by volume of the vermouth. Citric acid may be added to adjust total acidity. The alcohol content must be sufficiently high to adjust for dilution when extracts low in alcohol are employed for flavoring. 

The base wine is prepared from grape juice or concentrate as for normal dry table wines (Amerine et ah, 1980 Jackson, 2008). The essential requirements of the base wine are that the wine be sound, neutral-flavored, and inexpensive (Joshi et ah, 2011a,b). For example, wine prepared largely from Ugni Blanc in Emilia is popular for Italian vermouths. The wine is fairly neutral in flavor with 10-11% (v/v) alcohol and low acidity (05-0.6%). 

The complexities and interaction of composition on the quality perception of vermouth is illustrated with wild-apricot-based vermouth (Figs. 8.5-8.7). It shows that sweetness, flavor, and astringency are preferred at a sugar content of 8%, whereas body, appearance, and aroma were preferred at 12% sugar (Fig. 8.5). Body, flavor, aroma, and total acidity were scored better at an alcohol content of 19% (Fig. 8.6). The spice concentration preferred for volatile acidity, total acidity, flavor, and bitterness was 5% (Fig. 8.7), whereas body, sweetness, appearance, and astringency were preferred at a 2.5% level (Joshi et al, 201 la,b). 

For example, apple vermouths with different ethanol concentrations (12%, 15%, and 18%), sugar contents (4% and 8%), and levels of spice extracts (2.5% and 5.0%) were prepared and evaluated (Joshi and Sandhu, 2000). Using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), flavor profiling was carried out (Joshi and Sandhu, 2009). 

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