Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 5, 2025

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Fermentation Microbiome Through Next-Generation Sequencing
Published on: December 1, 2023
Recent advances in the knowledge of wine oligosaccharides
Rafael Apolinar-Valiente1, Pascale Williams1, Thierry Doco1
1INRAE, Supagro, UM, Joint Research Unit 1083, Sciences for Enology, Biomolecules of Interest in Oenology (B.I.O.) Research Team, 2 Place Pierre Viala, F-34060 Montpellier, France.
Abstract:
Oligosaccharides are carbohydrates with a low polymerization degree containing between three and fifteen monosaccharide residues covalently linked through glycosidic bonds. Oligosaccharides are related to plant defense responses and possess beneficial attributes for human health. Research has focused in wine oligosaccharides only in the last decade. In this paper, a summary of these works is provided. They include: (i) wine oligosaccharides origins, (ii) techniques for isolating oligosaccharide fraction and determining their content, composition and structure, (iii) their dependence on the grape origin and cultivar and winemaking process, and (iv) the connection between oligosaccharides and wine sensorial attributes. Further research is required regarding the impact of agricultural aspects and winemaking techniques on wine oligosaccharides. The knowledge concerning their influence on sensorial and physicochemical properties of wines and on human health should also be improved. The implementation of laboratory methods will provide better understanding of these compounds and their performance within wine's matrix.
Related Concept Videos
Oligosaccharide Assembly
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
Biosynthesis of Polysaccharides
Protein Glycosylation
Glycosylation occurs in...
Carbohydrate Digestion
Carbohydrate Absorption
After being swallowed, the partially digested carbohydrates mix with gastric secretions in the stomach. However, the acidic environment...
Glucose Transporters
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes:

