An efficient and rapid fluorescence-based method to detect haze-forming proteins in white wines has been developed at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), with the work recently published in the journal Food Chemistry.
The methods currently used for testing heat stability of white wine can be time-consuming, expensive and may not always accurately predict the amount of bentonite required to achieve protein stability. This could lead to over-fining, which might strip out phenolics and aroma compounds, or under-fining, which could increase the risk of protein instability. AWRI’s new fluorescence-based method presents an alternative.
The method uses a fluorescent compound that binds haze-forming proteins selectively. To validate it, a range of wines were analysed with results compared to an established HPLC method. A linear relationship was observed between the two methods over a range of relevant haze protein concentrations and the new method showed a low detection limit of 2 mg/L.
The new technology can be deployed rapidly, without sample preparation, presenting an opportunity for routine testing.
The full paper detailing this work is available from the AWRI library.