Abstract
Winery products are subjected to several factors after bottling such as the type of closure used, vibration, light exposure, temperature changes, oxygen intake, relative humidity, that could impact on the overall quality of the product. To ensure quality preservation and the authenticity of a valuable product such as wine, modern technologies are applied to guarantee the quality of the final product. The aim of this project has been to investigate the changes occurring in winery products after bottling and the factors influencing them. The evaluation of the most impacting variables, such as the type of closure used, temperature changes and vibration, has been reviewed and investigated during this PhD project. The first chapter reviews the effect of transport conditions on the stability and sensory quality of wines. The second chapter reports an account of the impact of the type of closure used during the storage in bottle of grappa distillates, by comparing different closure materials such as synthetic stoppers, sanitized cork microgranules blend of natural cork and polymers with no glue in the mix, common micro-granulated cork stoppers. The last chapter investigates the effects of long-term storage on three red wines produced in South Tyrol, focussing on the role of the stoppers on the evolution of the chemical profiles.