Applications of natural ingredients in alcoholic drinks - Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings - page 377

oak cask-aged wine generally cannot be achieved via the use of oak chips (Ortega-
Heras et al. 2010). The use of oak chips is not so popular amongst the makers of
cider and perry, possibly because of a potential clash between acquired oak fl avours
and existing fruit tannins if traditional cider apples or perry pears are used.
Colourants are not allowed for wines of the EU, except caramel for vermouth
and cochineal for certain wine-based apéritifs. Caramel is also allowed in British
cider, and in South Africa, non-ammonia caramel is allowed for wine and
cochineal (<30 mg/l) for 'grape-based liquor', but not wine. Intense sweeteners
are not allowed as additives to EU wine, although British cider can be sweetened
with artifi cial sweeteners (Lea 2004).
Grape must and other fruit musts are often too acidic (especially in poor
seasons) and so may be de-acidifi ed prior to fermentation by (in the EU) the
addition of chalk (e.g. Erbslöh Neoantacid for double precipitation of malate and
tartrate, thus maintaining acid balance), potassium bicarbonate or potassium
tartrate. In the EU, de-acidifi cation is allowed in zone A countries (which includes
England, most of Germany, and Luxembourg), provided that the fi nal acidity is
above 1.0 g/l (expressed as tartaric acid).
Grape musts in warm climates and other fruit musts are often defi cient in acid and
require acidifi cation prior to fermentation, usually accomplished by the addition of
tartaric or citric acids. Acidifi cation is allowed in EU zone C and also in many other
countries or wine-growing regions, such as Australia, California and South Africa.

16.2.4 Distilled spirits, fl avoured alcoholic beverages (FABs), cocktails and
liqueurs
Distilled spirits, and drinks based upon them, such as most ready-to-drink
cocktails, some FABs (fl avoured alcoholic beverages or 'alcopops') and liqueurs
constitute a very important part of the alcoholic beverage industry. Colourants,
fl avourants, sweeteners and other ingredients are important in the production of
many of these drinks; these are summarised in Table 16.10.
Many distilled drinks contain colouring ingredients, although the colours of
some (e.g. Armagnac, Cognac, Scotch malt whisky, Bourbon, some rum and others)
are derived from a few years' maturation in oak casks. Yet others, such as absinthe,
certain fl avoured vodkas, some cocktails/FABs and some liqueurs obtain their
colours from certain fl avourings, such as fruit, herbs or spices (Fig. 16.8).
In the US, the drinks colourants exempt from certifi cation by the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) are caramel, cochineal extract (carmine), grape
colour extract (or skins), saffron and turmeric. The FDA also specifi es allowed
colourant diluents and residue (pesticides, As, Hg and Pb) limits. Caramel is the
most widely used colourant of alcoholic beverages. It is used in solid or liquid
forms of varying colour intensity and hue (yellow-red/brown) to colour many
drinks, including some FABs, rum and whisky.
The EU (via Directives 94/36 and 95/45) defi nes four categories of caramel
(I-IV; E150a-d) (Table 16.11). All must conform to specifi ed characteristics
regarding colour, total nitrogen, total sulphur and maximum levels of As, Cd, Hg

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