The latest edition of New Scientist reports that help for budget–constrained wine lovers may be on the way. Work carried out by chemist Xin An Zeng at the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou holds promise for oenophiles around the globe. By passing a three-month old cabernet sauvignon through two titanium diodes and exposing the “vintage” to one, three, or eight minutes in various electric fields, the raw astringent beverage took on many of the softer characteristics of fine wine. Chemical analysis revealed reactions between alcohols and acids that produced esters, the fragrant compounds that give wine its distinctive bouquet. Also, chemical change produced free amino acids that enhance flavor and reduced the level of aldehydes, the compounds that can produce an “off” taste. Zeng cannot yet explain how exposure to electric fields produced these changes, but his working theory is that the EM exposure replicates the changes brought about by traditional aging in cellared barrels. Read more in the latest edition of New Scientist.
Wine, EM, and Oenophiles
