Response of the aroma fraction in sherry wines subjected to accelerated biological aging.

The effect of an acceleration assay, carried out with a periodic aeration and an increased surface/volume ratio, on various aroma compounds of "fino" Sherry wines aging under a veil of a pure culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae race capensis G1 flor film yeast was studied. The results were subjected to multifactor analysis of variance, and the compounds simultaneously depending on acceleration conditions and aging time at p < 0.01 were subjected to principal component analysis. The first component, accounting for 86.14% of the overall variance, was mainly defined by acetaldehyde and its derivatives 1,1-diethoxyethane and acetoin. These compounds reached higher concentrations in accelerated aging wines in a shorter time than they did in control wines, and no browning problems were detected. Taking into account that these compounds can be used as indicators for biological aging of "fino" Sherry wines, the acceleration condition assayed can be applied to shorten the time of this process.