Modeling the effects of assimilable nitrogen and temperature on fermentation kinetics in enological conditions

We propose a dynamic model of alcoholic fermentation in wine-making conditions. In this model, the speed at which CO2 is released is related to the effects of the main factors involved in fermentation in wine-making conditions: temperature (which can vary within a predefined range) and nitrogen additions (which must not exceed the maximal authorized level). The resulting model consists of ordinary differential equations including numerous parameters that need to be identified and important interactions between explicative variables. These parameters were identified by uncoupling the effects of variables during specific experiments. The results were validated on another series of experiments in different conditions. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.