Interest in Online Higher Alcohol and Ester Determinations during Winemaking Fermentations

To access the kinetics of synthesis of higher alcohols and esters during the alcoholic fermentation process, we developed an original online gas chromatography device. The high frequency measurement made it possible, for the first time, to calculate rates and specific rates of production. In parallel, it was possible to perform dynamic gas–liquid balances. Losses highly depended on the studied compound. They were negligible for the higher alcohols but high for the esters, even at moderate temperatures.