Short-Term CO(2) Treatment of Harvested Grapes (Vitis vinifera L., cv. Trebbiano) before Partial Dehydration Affects Berry Secondary Metabolism and the Aromatic Profile of the Resulting Wine

High CO(2) concentrations applied to harvested horticultural products can modify primary and secondary metabolism. This work reports the metabolic responses to short-term CO(2) treatments of white-skinned grapes (cv Trebbiano) undergoing postharvest partial dehydration. The influence of CO(2) treatments on the aroma profile of the derived sweet wine was also assessed. Harvested grapes were treated with gaseous CO(2) (30%) or air (control) for 24 h and then dehydrated (about 45% of weight loss) before vinification. Lipophilic and phenolic compounds of grape skin and the wine aroma profile were analyzed. In CO(2)-treated berries, the lipophilic and phenolic compounds decreased at a reduced and faster rate, respectively, during dehydration. Aroma profile of wine from CO(2)-treated grapes showed a slight but significantly higher content of glycosylated C13 and terpene compounds, and a decrease/absence of free acids, vanillin derivates and other phenol volatiles. The higher content of volatile alcohols in wine from treated berries suggests that the alcoholic fermentation was triggered. CO(2) application before the withering process of Trebbiano grapes affects the aroma profile of the resulting wine by altering the free:glycosylated volatiles ratio. This study provides information on the possible use of CO(2) as metabolic elicitor to modulate the aroma profile of the resulting wines obtained after grape dehydration.