Changes in the polyphenolic and volatile contents of "fino" sherry wine exposed to ultraviolet and visible radiation during storage.

Experiments of accelerated oxidation of "fino" sherry wines have been conducted at 25 degrees C and under the influence of UV-visible radiation (a xenon lamp of 1500 W). With the aim of determining the contribution of UV-vis radiation to the browning phenomenon, two types of glass bottles were employed: topaz bottles (with low values of transmittance in the UV-visible range) and transparent bottles. To identify significant differences between the wine before and after being subjected to the influence of the UV-vis radiation, the values of absorbance at 420 nm and the concentrations of various polyphenolic and volatile compounds were submitted to a multivariate variance analysis. Both factors considered (time and type of bottle) had a statistically significant effect on the values of absorbance at 420 nm and on the concentration of most of the polyphenolic compounds, whereas only the "time" factor was significant for volatile compounds. All wines showed losses in several polyphenolic compounds, which were more severe for the wines bottled in transparent glasses. However, these wines exhibited a lower degree of visual browning (abs 420 nm). In the case of volatile compounds, most of these presented increases during storage exposed to the influence of the UV-vis radiation.