Sugar and alcohol stabilization of yeast in sweet wine

Abstract

Secondary fermentation of sweet wine was prevented by the Delle stabilization procedure. For this procedure, advantage is taken of the inhibitory effects of high concentrations of sugar as well as of alcohol. Thus, relatively small amounts of wine spirits were added to fermenting musts to obtain stability, as compared to the conventional procedure in which larger amounts of alcohol are added and the inhibitory effect of alcohol only is considered. The Delle value is a function of the concentrations in the wine, after spirits addition, of alcohol and sugar. Delle values which gave stable wine were dependent on time of alcohol addition, on strain of wine yeast, and on composition of wine spirits. Fractional addition of spirits, concentration of SO(2), and clarity of must had little effect on the Delle value. Sensory comparison of wines especially prepared for tasting by the Delle procedure and by the conventional procedure showed the wines made by the Delle procedure to be superior in quality. Under proper storage conditions, the Delle wines were shown to be microbiologically stable and resistant to wine spoilage organisms.