title: Influence of the freezing method on the changes that occur in grape samples after frozen storage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sample freezing is frequently used in oenological laboratories as a compromise solution to increase the number of samples that can be analysed, despite the fact that some grape characteristics are known to change after frozen storage. However, freezing is usually performed using standard freezers, which provide a slow freezing. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether blast freezing would decrease the impact of standard freezing on grape composition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Grape quality parameters were assessed in fresh and in frozen stored samples that had been frozen using three different procedures: standard freezing and blast freezing using either a blast freezer or an ultra-freezer. The implications of frozen storage in grape samples reported in earlier research were observed for the three freezing methods evaluated. Although blast freezing improved repeatability for the most problematic parameters (tartaric acidity, TarA; total phenolics, TP), the improvement was not important from a practical point of view. However, TarA and TP were relatively repeatable among the three freezing procedures, which suggests that freezing had an effect on these parameters independently of the method used . According to our results, the salification potential of the must is probably implied in the changes observed for TarA, whereas for TP the precipitation of protoanthocyanins after association with cell wall material is hypothesized to cause the lack of repeatability between fresh and frozen grapes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Blast freezing would not imply a great improvement if implemented in oenological laboratories, at least for the parameters included in this study.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Producción Agraria, Universidad Pública de Navarra, 31006, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. gonzaga.santesteban@unavarra.es
authors.forename: Luis G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Santesteban
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: José B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Royo
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000032:analysis; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000295:instrumentation; D063427:Food Quality; D061353:Food Storage; D005628:Frozen Foods / Q000032:analysis*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012995:Solubility; D013030:Spain; D013644:Tartrates / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D027843:Vitis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D014920:Wine / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D010636:Phenols; D013644:Tartrates; C029768:tartaric acid
keywords: Vitis vinifera L; anthocyanins; freezing; grape; phenolics; repeatability; sample storage; thawing