Shine Muscat is increasingly valued in Asian markets for its high sugar content and distinctive aromatic profile, yet studies exploring its application in fermentation and distillation remain limited. This study evaluated the effects of replacing suc...
Shine Muscat is increasingly valued in Asian markets for its high sugar content and distinctive aromatic profile, yet studies exploring its application in fermentation and distillation remain limited. This study evaluated the effects of replacing sucrose with rice-derived jocheong syrup as a natural carbohydrate source on the fermentation behavior and quality characteristics of Shine Muscat wine and its distilled spirit. Jocheong was produced by saccharifying rice with malted barley, and optimization of saccharification conditions showed stable soluble solids 20–20.8 °Brix after 5 h and the highest reducing sugar content 18.5% at 60 °C. Among tested yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae NY-21 exhibited the highest fermentability, reducing soluble solids to 10.4 °Brix by day 8. During Shine Muscat fermentation, pH decreased from 3.8 to 3.35, while total acidity converged to 0.5–0.6% in both sucrose-based wine (SW) and jocheong-based wine (JW). Sugar consumption progressed more slowly in JW due to the presence of oligosaccharides, resulting in higher residual reducing sugars and lower final ethanol production (7.1% for JW vs. 13% for SW). Volatile analysis identified 25 compounds, with SW characterized by higher levels of fruity esters such as ethyl hexanoate and ethyl octanoate, whereas JW contained greater amounts of higher alcohols including isoamyl alcohol and phenylethyl alcohol, likely reflecting altered nitrogen metabolism via the Ehrlich pathway. JW exhibited significantly higher flavonoid content (407.69 μg CE/mL) compared with SW, indicating enhanced functional properties derived from the syrup matrix.
Sensory evaluation revealed that both SW and JW maintained high overall preference scores, while distilled samples (SD and JD) showed reduced acceptability due to diminished aroma complexity, though JD exhibited slight improvement in aroma attributes relative to SD. Overall, the findings demonstrate that jocheong supports stable yeast fermentation, modulates volatile composition toward richer aromatic complexity, and enhances functional phenolic characteristics. Jocheong thus represents a promising natural alternative to sucrose for developing value-added Shine Muscat wines and potentially improving flavor attributes in distilled products.