The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
A unique project being undertaken by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will determine any positive effects on aging wine using toasted barrels made from local trees.
The project is being developed by DOST’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI).
The project – “Safety Assessment and Determination of Wine-Property Enhancing Compounds of Wines Aged in FPRDI Toasted Wine Barrel – is funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, also under DOST.
The project is linked to an ongoing pilot testing of wine barrels made from locally available wood species, which hopes to help local winemakers improve the quality and taste of their wines.
The wine barrels were developed to find cheaper but quality substitutes to white oak (Quercus alba), which is known worldwide as the most ideal material for fermenting and aging wine.
FPRDI will assess the safe use and determine the wine property-enhancing compounds present in wine aged in toasted barrels made from locally available – senile and unproductive santol (Sandoricum koijape), and tree plantation species like big-leafed mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King), mangium (Acacia mangium), and river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis).
The project will also determine the antioxidant activity of wine samples before and after ageing process.
A collaboration between the institute and the private sector, the project team partnered with a local fabricator to produce the toasted barrels and a local apiary and meadery for the food safety analysis of the aged wine.