The effect of ascorbic acid on oxidative browning of white wines and model wines

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Abstract
The effects of ascorbic acid addition to white wines and model wines were either anti-oxidative or pro-oxidative, and depended, inter alia, on the duration of storage. Soon after its addition, ascorbic acid decreased the redox potential and brown colour of model wines and white wines. However, with time, these effects were reversed, and redox potential, SO2 consumption and browning were greater in samples with added ascorbic acid. The point at which the net effect of ascorbic acid addition was to increase browning occurred earlier at higher SO2 levels. Under a variety of accelerated (45®), or prolonged (ranging from three months to five years) storage conditions, the browning of model wines and white wines was invariably enhanced by ascorbic acid addition, and this enhancement took place whether or not SO2 was present. The addition of SO2 alone, rather than ascorbic acid alone or SO2 plus ascorbic acid, appears to be the most effective and least expensive way of protecting white wine from browning during bottle conservation.