Evaluation of physicochemical characteristics, color and volatile profile of low alcohol beverage based on concentrated white wine produced by NF and RO membranes

Membrane-based technologies have emerged as vital methods for reducing or removing ethanol in winemaking. This study evaluates the efficacy of nanofiltration (NF-DK) and reverse osmosis (RO-SG) membranes in ethanol reduction for white wine, focusing on permeate flux behavior, fouling index, permeability, ethanol rejection rates, and retention of essential wine components. Experiments were conducted at 21 degrees C, achieving a weight reduction factor (WRF) of 4. The RO-SG membrane experienced a significant decline (78.2 %) in flux over 247 min to achieve WRF 4, whereas the NF-DK membrane exhibited a lesser flux decline of 49.2 %, reaching WRF 4 in just 40 min. Despite the higher ethanol rejection achieved by RO-SG (16.3 %) compared to NF-DK (1.8 %), ROSG demonstrated greater retention of critical compounds, including citric acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, total acidity, glycerol, dry extract, and key volatile compounds. The produced low-alcohol wines, RO(B) (3.07 % v/v) and NF(B) (2.50 % v/v), showed significant physicochemical changes. Colorimetric analysis revealed deeper red hues and greater color intensity in RO(B) (0.28) compared to NF(B) (0.19) and the original wine (0.23), with a Delta E of 3.26 for RO(B), indicating pronounced visual deviations. Moreover, the retention of volatile compounds was substantially higher in RO(B) (55 %) compared to NF(B) (28 %), highlighting substantial differences in aroma and flavor. These findings highlight the potential of membrane-based approaches for ethanol reduction while emphasizing their impact on key quality parameters, providing valuable insights for the scalable production of low-alcohol wines with controlled compositional attributes.