# Non-Thermal and Thermal Physical Procedures--Optimistic Solutions in the Winemaking Industry
## 1 Introduction
Atmospheric cold plasma technology shows significant potential for the microbial decontamination of fresh products, inactivation of spoilage enzymes, pesticides degradation, and modification of rheological properties. It serves as an innovative alternative to reduce nutrient loss in processed foods, impacting the overall quality of juices, wines, fruits, vegetables, and meats by affecting factors like pH, vitamin C content, antioxidant activity, and color. Cold plasma treatment is rapid, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and can improve production techniques and plant growth without leaving chemical residues [7; 8; 9; 10]. **Pulsed electric fields** have found applications in enoological processing. The treatment involves applying microsecond pulses of a high-power electric field to a sample  
Figure 1: Thermal and non-thermal physical procedures used in food and beverage processing. placed between two electrodes, requiring minimal processing times. Moreover, it operates in continuous flow. Pulsed electric fields have several beneficial effects on winemaking, including the removal of pathogenic bacteria, a shorter maceration period, greater phenolic compound extraction, quicker aging, and inactivation of oxidative enzymes. Also, this technique can be used to improve the quality of wine throughout the winemaking process since they produce eukaryotic cell membrane permeabilization without drastically increasing the product's temperature [11; 12; 13]. **High-pressure processing** is a non-thermal commercial technology that uses uniform pressures, typically ranging from 100 to 600 MPa, to inactivate undesired microbes and enzymes in food and drinks. Research shows that this treatment inactivate microorganisms in wine without affecting key parameters like alcohol content, pH, total and volatile acidity, malic acid content, lactic acid, protein stability, reducing sugars, and polyphenol oxidase activity. Approved for oncology by the OIV in 2019 (resolution OENO 594A-2019), high-pressure processing at pressures above 150 MPa can reduce microbial content, decrease SO\({}_{2}\) concentration, and accelerate maceration [14; 15; 16; 17]. **Ultrasonic technology** presents numerous benefits, including sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and rapid and efficient processes. It enhances food shelf life while preserving quality, freshness, taste, and nutritional elements without energy loss. This technology operates through mechanical waves of frequencies over 20 kHz, inducing cavitation, where collapsing bubbles release energy, increasing temperature and pressure, and potentially damaging surfaces. In the food industry, ultrasonic technology is utilized to improve processing methods such as gelation and crystallization, as well as to modify food structure and properties (e.g., polysaccharides and fats) and facilitate beneficial reactions (like glycosylation and enzymatic cross-linking). This technique is also reported to eliminate pesticides and allergens and reduce microbial contaminants in milk, fruits, and vegetables. In winemaking, ultrasounds are applied to reduce SO\({}_{2}\) usage, accelerate the _sur lie_ effect, enhance polysaccharide release, and improve the organoleptic properties of red wine. Additionally, sonication is tested as an artificial aging method to enhance wine quality by shortening processing time [4]. It is well known that wooden barrels can be used to obtain quality wines up to three times, but this process generates significant amounts of waste [18]. Thus, classical aging in wooden barrels is not the only option at the moment, and in recent years studies have focused on different procedures (e.g., wood fragments, ultrasound treatments) that could be applied at the industrial level. The oak species typically used for wine aging include _Quercus alba_ (American white oak), _Quercus petraea_, and _Quercus robur_ (French oak).