Researchers to improve the quality of aged brandy

16-Feb-2017 - Last updated on 16-Feb-2017 at 10:54 GMT

Jerónimo Pérez, president, Ifapa and Pedro Suárez, manager, Bodega González Byass Jerez sign the project agreement. Picture: Ifapa.

Itene (Packaging, Transport and Logistics Institute) has partnered with the Agricultural Research and Training Institute of Andalucía (Ifapa) to determine the factors that influence the quality of aged brandy, in the packaging process.

The initiative, in co-operation with González Byass, one of Spain's most well-known sherry bodegas and Productos Agrovin, will try to establish efficient wine growing strategies to obtain quality grapes for distillation and introduce innovative winemaking and distillation systems to manufacture brandy.

Holandas brandy wine

The researchers will also analyze the factors that influence the aging of this beverage, final treatments and packaging of quality brandies.

Jerónimo Pérez, president, Ifapa, said the project will study different yeast strains of high alcoholicity and various nutrients for these yeasts to maximize the alcohol’s production from the sugars of the grape during the process of alcoholic fermentation.

It will also analyze some of the wine factors that influence the elaboration of the wine holandas - a brandy obtained by direct distillation of certain types of wine - among which are the variety, the degree of maturation of the grape and the type of soil.

Distillates of traditional varieties of the Denominations of Origin (DO) 'Sherry-Xérès-Sherry' and 'Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda' (Palomino fino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel) will be investigated and for their suitability for an aged brandy.

Native grape varieties

Also, semi-industrial distillation of wines from other native grape varieties, such as Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel, will be performed, which are considered optimal for the production of this drink.

In regard to the objectives of aging, the agreement includes the study and characterization of the volatility of the brandies at different times of their aging, and the influence of cold treatment on these compounds in the aged brandies.

Other research organizations involved in the two-year project include; the Polytechnic University of Madrid, through the Research Group on Viticulture; The Center for Edaphology and Applied Biology of the Segura, of the Higher Council of Scientific Research (Cebas-CSIC); and the University of Cadiz through the Andalusian Center for Wine Research.

Source: Ifapa
Date: 2/1/2017
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development
Productive sector: Vine and Wine