Wine-Containing Beverages

Wine-containing beverages are made with wine, liquor wines or sparkling wines and, hence, they are alcoholic beverages. 

We found approximately 2-4 grams of caprylic, 2-5 grams of capric, and 1-2 grams of lauric acid/100 liters in our experimental continuous still beverage brandies but usually less than 1 gram of each per 100 liters in unaged commercial brandy distillates (II). New commercial brandy distillates made from fortified wine contain less than those distilled from straight dry wine. Distillates from a continuous vacuum column and a pilot pot still also contain less. 

In addition to its role in natural processes, carbon dioxide has many commercial and industrial applications. One of the most important uses is in the carbonation of beverages. Although beers and sparkling wines contain carbon dioxide from natural sources (the fermentation of sugars by yeasts), nearly all carbonated beverages have their carbon dioxide added artificially. The carbon dioxide adds a zesty taste to the beverage and helps to preserve it. 

So what causes this unique effect of red wine Part of the story is the high trace element content in comparison with beer or spirits, but this is not all. White wine and red wine are very similar as far as the main components are concerned. Red wine, however, contains about 20 times more of polyphenol derivatives than white wine. Alcohohc beverages are pro-oxidants, which means that they increase the intensity of oxidation processes. Alcohol itself is responsible for this effect. Red wine, however, is an antioxidant (—>3.31) thanks to its polyphenol content. Antioxidants were very intensely researched in the 1980s and 1990s, which also contributed to the increasing interest in red wine. The presence of polyphenols is required for this effect, but this is still not the whole story. 

Volume percent is used to express the concentration of alcohol in beverages. Wines generally contain 12% alcohol by volume. This translates into 12 mL of alcohol in each 100 mL of wine. The beverage industry also uses the concentration unit of proof (twice the volume percent). Pure ethyl alcohol is 100% and therefore 200 proof. Scotch whiskey is 86 proof, or 43% alcohol by volume. 

Polyphenolics are important constituents of grapes in determining the color, taste, and body of wines. Unlike other alcoholic beverages, red wine, which is obtained after about 10 days of maceration, contains phenolic compounds in substantial concentrations of up to 4 g L . Due to the lower maceration time, white and rose wines contain about a tenth of the polyphenol levels of red wines [1]. Among these compounds, stilbenoids constitute an important subclass, whose overall levels can reach over 100 mg in red wine. Resveratrol is one of the major stilbenoids of red wine with numerous promising biological activities. 

Ethanol mixes with water in all proportions because of its polar group. All alcoholic beverages contain primarily ethanol and water, with a few other minor components that give flavor and color. The proof of a liquor is twice its alcohol percentage by volume. A 200-proof liquor is pure ethanol 90-proof whiskey contains 45% ethanol. The alcohol in beer and wine is usually reported as a direct percentage rather than as a proof. Beers contain between 3 and 6% ethanol and wines contain about 12%. 

Ethanol content in wines varies from 8-9% to 18-18.5% by volume, depending on the content of sugars in the must (see Section 4.2.2.6). Normal table wines contain 10-14% ethanol by volume, while dessert wines of the sherry type contain 17-24% ethanol by volume. The ethanol content in grape brandy, spirits and other spirits is around 40% by volume, and a number of special products have lower alcohol content, but some spirits have also higher alcohol content. In the United States, the proof of an alcoholic beverage is twice its alcohol content expressed as percentage by volume at 60 °F (15.6 °C). So an 80-proof whiskey (whisky) is 40% ethanol. 

A Special agency now called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) within the U.S. Treasury Department was empowered to regulate the alcohoHc beverage industries. Although less adversarial, but strictly enforced even today (ca 1997), the regulations and their appHcation remain voluminous and detailed. They specify not only label compliance and matters relating to taxation that are of direct interest to consumers, but contain all the details of permitted processes for and additions to wines. 

Egyptians purportedly practiced distillation around 1000—2000 BC by heating wine and making a product called arden spidts. China and India are also said to have carried out distillation in the pre-Christian era. The Chinese reportedly made a distilled beverage from nee beer around 800 BC. The Arabs learned about distillation from the Egyptians and developed an apparatus in the form of a closed heated container that was called an alembic. 

The chief advantage of wood for containers is that many common species are free from harmful contaminants. For this reason wood had widespread use in the food and beverage industries, but it has now suffered severe competition from corrosion-resistant metals, plastics and paper products. Oak had a very extensive use in tight cooperage in the brewing industry, and its use for barrels still survives in the maturing of whisky and brandy and in the wine industries. Wood is particularly useful where acetic acid is present as this acid is corrosive to most common metals. 

Trichloroethylene has been detected in dairy products (milk, cheese, butter) at 0.3-10 pg/kg (0.3-10 ppb), meat (English beef) at 12-16 ppb, oils and fats at 0-19 ppb, beverages (canned fruit drink, light ale, instant coffee, tea, wine) at 0.02-60 ppb, fruits and vegetables (potatoes, apples, pears, tomatoes) at 0-5 ppb, and fresh bread at 7 ppb (McConnell et al. 1975). Samples obtained from a food processor in Pennsylvania contained trichloroethylene concentrations of 68 ppb in plant tap water, 28 ppb in Chinese-style sauce,... 

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