Masters Degrees (Viticulture and Oenology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Viticulture and Oenology) by Author "Bougas, Nina Valleska"

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    Evaluating the effect of pot still design on the resultant distillate
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-03) Bougas, Nina Valleska; Lambrechts, Marius; Van Rensburg, Pierre; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Agrisciences. Dept. of Viticulture and Oenology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The total sale of brandy for 2007 in South Africa was R 7 300 000 000 and local statistics indicate that brandy is by far the most purchased spirit beverage. Sales of brandy even outweigh the total sales for whisky and the forecast for the estimated sales of brandy in the next five years is said to increase by 25%. It is therefore crucial to investigate those factors that influence the production of brandy as better understanding and control of these processes leads to the production of a brandy that is consistent and of premium quality. Many factors influence the final outcome of distillates. Of these factors, the distillation technique, the apparatus used for the purpose of distillation together with the low wine is of utmost importance as they influence the sensory profile and the chemical composition of the distillate. The effect of different variations of pot still designs on the chemical composition and the sensory profile of the resultant distillate was investigated. Five different Pot still variations were used and varied with regards to the design of their pot still head and swans neck apparatus. Two low wines were used for the purpose of distillations and were both from 2007 vintage. GCFID was used to identify the volatile compounds found in the distillates and together with Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) a profile of the distillates was produced which was used to differentiate between the different pot still variations and their effect on the final product. The data generated from the QDA sessions was subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and together with the chemical analysis a correlation between certain compounds and sensory attributes were found in the distillates. Distillate samples were also subjected to a sensory style classification system and were classified accordingly. The chemical composition of the two low wines prior to distillations differed significantly from each other with low wine one containing a larger amount of total esters and carbonyl compounds whilst low wine two contained a larger amount of total higher alcohols and acids. The distillates of low wine one also contained over all larger amounts of total esters and in the case of the distillates of low wine two, they contained larger amounts of higher alcohols and acids than low wine one. Variation one was based on the Alambic Charentais method of pot still design and it was found that only variation one influenced the chemical composition and the sensory profile of the distillates. This variation produced a distillate with a lower amount of total esters and more specifically ethyl acetate as well containing a lower intensity of the fruit and sweet associated caramel aromas and flavours. The esters, ethyl acetate and the ethyl esters of the long chained fatty acids were found to correlate with the sensory attributes known as fruit associated aroma, soapy aroma, and spicy aroma and therefore indicated that these compounds are responsible for these attributes. There were no correlations found between the chemical compounds, sensory attributes and sensory style classifications in the distillates of both low wine one and two. It was shown that the addition of certain esters, carbonyl compounds, higher alcohols and acids in specific ratios could alter the sensory classification of the distillates. Therefore the chemical composition and the sensory characteristics of distillates are largely dependent on the chemical composition of the low wine prior to distillation rather than the pot still design. Therefore, with further research it could be possible to predict the outcome of the chemical composition of the distillates by analyzing the chemical compounds found in the low wine prior to distillation.