A Sustainable Approach Based on the Use of Unripe Grape Frozen Musts to Modulate Wine Characteristics as a Proof of Concept

Aiming to develop a sustainable methodology for must acidity correction in winemaking, particularly needed in warm regions, the present study intends to fulfill the circular economy values. Antao Vaz white wines were produced using two different strategies for must acidity correction: (i) the addition of a mixture of organic acids (Mix*) commonly used in winemaking; and (ii) the addition of previously produced unripe grape must (UM*) from the same grape variety. In addition, a testimonial (T*) sample was produced with no acidity correction. For all wines produced, oenological parameters were determined, and both amino acid (AA) content and volatile composition were evaluated. A higher AA content was found in the Antao Vaz T* wine, followed by UM* wines. The volatile profile was also affected, and LDA demonstrates a clear separation of wines with different acidity corrections. Results obtained indicate that unripe grape musts-a vital waste product containing several compounds with important biological activity-can be used to increase musts acidity without a negative impact on wine characteristics. Furthermore, this work also shows that the use of unripe must may be a valuable tool for reducing the alcoholic content of wines.

Automated summary

This study aims to develop a sustainable method for correcting must acidity in winemaking, particularly in warm regions. The findings show that unripe grape must can be used to increase acidity in wines without negatively impacting their characteristics. This discovery is of great significance for circular economy and wine production.