Behavior of TCA in Wines with Higher Alcohol

Sponsored by CQC and conducted by ETS Laboratories - Eric Herve PhD, ETS Laboratories - June 1999 - St. Helena CA

Summary : Alcohol has a high affinity for TCA and there have been understandable questions about the CQC method which specifies a standard 10% ethanol solution for cork soaks. This report illustrates that higher ethanol matrices will absorb more Releasable TCA from the cork, but at the same time, will curtail the volatility of TCA into the atmosphere. The net effect is shown in this study, to cancel each other out. It is inferred from this analysis of reduced TCA release to a SPME fiber, that the same result would occur in sensory evaluations.

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