Analytical Characterization and Sensory Analysis of Distillates of Different Varieties of Grapes Aged by an Accelerated Method

The wine spirits used for the elaboration of Brandy de Jerez are mainly obtained from wines produced from the Airen type of grape, which comes from the vineyards located in the region of La Mancha (Central Spain). This entails a limitation when achieving a product classified as “protected geographic designation”. For that purpose, it is necessary that the grape used for the wine spirit comes from the area and not from Castile la Mancha, as has happened until now. Due to this fact, it is necessary to search for a possible alternative grape variety which allows the produced brandy to be eligible for a “protected geographic designation”. For that purpose, an accelerated ageing process has been implemented with a method previously optimized to distillates obtained from wines from different varieties of grapes (Airen, Colombard, Corredera, Doradilla, Garrido Fino, Jaen blanco, Moscatel de Alejandria, Palomino Fino, Ugni Blanc, and Zalema) grown in the Jerez Area. They were evaluated, both from the analytical and sensory points of view. The distillates made from Jaen Blanco and Zalema have properties that make them interesting for future development and incorporation into oenological practice.