A study on the effects of oxygen transmission rate of synthetic stopper on wine quality: the case of Nero di Troia

The aim of this work was to study the effect of closure oxygen permeability (OTR) on chemical, physical, and sensory qualities of Nero di Troia wines. The wines were produced, bottled, and closed with three types of coextruded synthetic stoppers differing for their OTR (low, medium, and high). The wines of the bottles closed with high OTR stoppers exhibited the lowest concentrations of all the phenolic classes, except for monomeric anthocya- nins. The oxygen permeating through the medium and high OTR stoppers favored the increases in polymerization reac- tions within tannins and between flavan-3-ols and antho- cyanins. Color intensity showed the lowest values in wines sealed with low OTR closures. The wines of bottle with medium or high OTR closures had the highest monomeric- to-more stable pigments ratio. The wines stored in bottles sealed with low OTR closures showed a flavor profile char- acterized by vinous, floral, fruity, and ethereal notes, while those of bottles closed with medium and high OTR stop- pers showed high fruity, spicy, and aromatic flavors. The types of closure exert significant effects on Nero di Troia wine quality in particular on color, which was stabilized by polymerization between anthocyanins and flavanols.