Changes in the Sotolon Content of Dry White Wines during Barrel and Bottle Aging

GC-MS in electron ionization mode (EI) was used as a simple, sensitive method for assaying sotolon [4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2(5)H-furanone] in various dry white wines. The impact of barrel-aging conditions, that is, whether yeast lees were present or not, on the formation of sotolon in dry white wines was then studied. The sotolon content was highest in dry white wines aged in new barrels without lees, often exceeding the perception threshold (8 µg/L). These results demonstrated that yeast lees were capable of minimizing the formation of sotolon in dry white wines during aging. The sotolon and oxygen contents of several bottle of the same white wine were also compared 7 years after bottling. At the range of dissolved oxygen concentrations generally measured, between 5 and 100 µg/L, the sotolon content remained below its perception threshold in wine. The perception threshold was exceeded only in wines with oxygen concentrations above 500 µg/L. The presence of dissolved oxygen in the wine samples analyzed also resulted in a decrease in their free sulfur dioxide content.