ORIGINAL ARTICLE Impact of pulsed-electric field and high-voltage electrical discharges on red wine microbial stabilization and quality characteristics C. Delsart 1,2 , N. Grimi 3 , N. Boussetta 3 , C. Miot Sertier 1,2 , R. Ghidossi 1,2 , E. Vorobiev 3 and M. Mietton Peuchot 1,2 1 USC 1366 Œnologie, ISVV, INRA, Villenave d’Ornon Cedex, France 2 Unit e de recherche Œnologie, EA 4577, ISVV, Universit e de Bordeaux, Villenave d’Ornon, France 3 Equipe Technologies Agro-industrielles, Centre de Recherche de Royallieu, Transformation Int egr ee de la Mati ere Renouvelable (TIMR, EA 4297, UTC/ESCOM), Universit e de Technologie de Compi egne, Sorbonne Universit es, Compi egne, France Keywords bacteria, high-voltage electrical discharge, pulsed-electric field, stabilization, wine, yeast. Correspondence Nabil Grimi, Equipe Technologies Agro-indus- trielles, Centre de Recherche de Royallieu, Transformation Int egr ee de la Mati ere Renou- velable (TIMR, EA 4297, UTC/ESCOM), Universit e de Technologie de Compi egne, Sorbonne Universit es, B.P. 20529, 60205 Compi egne, France. E-mail: nabil.grimi@utc.fr 2015/1287: received 27 June 2015, revised 17 September 2015 and accepted 25 September 2015 doi:10.1111/jam.12981 Abstract Aims: In this study, pulsed-electric fields (PEF) and high-voltage electrical discharges (HVED) are proposed as new techniques for the microbial stabilization of red wines before bottling. The efficiency of the treatment was then evaluated. Methods and Results: PEF and HVED-treatments have been applied to wine for the inactivation of Oenococcus oeni CRBO 9304, O. oeni CRBO 0608, Pediococcus parvulus CRBO 2.6 and Brettanomyces bruxellensis CB28. Different treatment times (1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 ms) were used at 20 kV cm 1 for the PEF treatments and at 40 kV for the HVED treatments, which correspond to applied energies from 80 to 800 kJ l 1 . The effects of the treatments on the microbial inactivation rate and on various characteristics of red wines (phenolic composition, chromatic characteristics and physico-chemical parameters) were measured. Conclusions: The application of PEF or HVED treatments on red wine allowed the inactivation of alteration yeasts (B. bruxellensis CB28) and bacteria (O. oeni CRBO 9304, O. oeni CRBO 0608 and P. parvulus CRBO 2.6). The electric discharges at 40 kV were less effective than the PEF even after 10 ms of treatments. Indeed, 4 ms of PEF treatment at 20 kV cm 1 were sufficient to inactivate all micro-organisms present in the wines. Also, the use of PEF had no negative impact on the composition of wines compared to the HVED treatments. Contrary to PEF, the phenolics compounds were degraded after the HVED treatment and the physico-chemical composition of wine were modified with HVED. Significance and Impact of the Study: PEF technology seems to be an interesting alternative to stabilize microbiologically wines before bottling and without modifying their composition. This process offers many advantages for winemakers: no chemical inputs, low energy consumption (320 kJ l 1 ), fast (treatment time of 4 ms) and athermal (DT  10°C). Introduction Some strains of micro-organisms, such as Brettanomyces bruxellensis (B. bruxellensis) (ethylphenol producers) (Cha- tonnet et al. 1992), Oenococcus oeni (O. oeni) (biogenic amine producers) (Lonvaud-Funel 2001), or even some strains of Pediococcus parvulus (P. parvulus) (polysaccha- ride producers) (Dols-Lafargue et al. 2008) which can alter the red wine quality must be eliminated in order to preserve it. The microbiological stabilization of red wines Journal of Applied Microbiology 120, 152--164 © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology 152 Journal of Applied Microbiology ISSN 1364-5072