The influence of fermentation temperature and sulfur dioxide on the volatile composition and flavour profile of cashew wine

Abstract

Fresh cashew juice was inoculated with Saccharomyces bayannus and fermented at 18 and 30°C. Sulfur dioxide was added at 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg. The headspace volatiles were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and sniffed using the Osme technique. The flavour profiles were generated by Quantitative Descriptive Analysis. Impact volatiles included ethyl esters associated with fruit flavour. A refrigerated fermentation provided better wines, increasing the levels of compounds with cashew, fruity and sweet notes and decreasing undesirable compounds perceived as 'fermented', 'plastic' and or 'smelly'. A low level of sulfitation was required to obtain a fruity cashew wine whereas too much sulfite favoured the production of isobutanol and hexanoic acid, which could impair the sensory quality of the product.