Influence of wine-making protocol and fining agents on the evolution of the anthocyanin content,colour and general organoleptic quality of Vinhão wines

This paper reports the evolution, over two years, of the anthocyanin content, colour and organoleptic quality of red wines prepared from a single batch of Vinhão grapes by means of three different protocols (maceration/fermentation with conventional pumping-over or in rotary vats, and fermentation after initial carbonic maceration), with and without the use of four different fining agents (polyvinylpolypyrrolidine, gelatin, egg albumin, and casein). Carbonic maceration led to lower anthocyanin levels and less intense coloration than the other two methods immediately following vinification, but during storage the carbonic maceration wines underwent less colour degradation than the others, so that after two years the colour density differences among the three were negligible. Wines treated with fining agents tended to have somewhat lower anthocyanin levels and, especially in the case of PVPP, less intense colouration than untreated wines, and their colour was at best only marginally more stable during storage, but they nevertheless generally achieved higher panel ratings for organoleptic quality than untreated wines, especially as regards taste.     

Comparison of fining red wines with purified grape pomace versus commercial fining agents: effect on wine chromatic characteristics and phenolic content

The large quantity of grape pomace (seeds, skin, and peduncle) produced during the winemaking process can be a problem and the search for procedures which could permit their valorisation is considered an important issue. This study investigates the use of purified grape pomace as a fining agent for reducing the level of some wine phenolic compounds, especially tannins. For this, purified grape pomace was applied to three young red wines of different phenolic composition and the results were compared with the effect of some common commercial fining agents. The results demonstrated that grape pomace can be used to decrease the wine tannin content with similar results to those obtained with casein, while also reducing anthocyanin content although to a similar extent to when bentonite is used. The effect of purified Monastrell grapes pomace is similar in the three different studied wines although it affected the most to wines with high monomeric anthocyanin content.     

Micro-oxygenation and oak chip treatments of red wines: Effects on colour-related phenolics,volatile composition and sensory characteristics. Part II: Merlot wines

The character of Merlot wines after the treatments of micro-oxygenation and subsequent chips addition, as regards the colour-related phenolics, volatile composition and sensory characteristics, was studied. An increase in the degree of polymerisation of red pigments and a decrease in the value of the red component of the colour (a^*) and the degree of co-pigmentation were observed. The concentrations of monomeric anthocyanins and anthocyanin-derived pigments, such as hydroxyphenyl-pyranoanthocyanins and anthocyanin-ethyl-flavan-3-ol adducts, significantly decreased. With regard to the wine aroma, the micro-oxygenation produced a decrease of some esters, alcohols and benzenic compounds and increased some terpenes and C₁₃-norisoprenoids. With regard to sensorial analysis, micro-oxygenation treatment resulted in higher scores for the red fruit and spicy attributes and caused the presence of new attributes (nutty and sweet fruit). This technique produces a lower level of the typical oak chip aromas (vanilla and woody) in Merlot wines.     

Improving colour extraction and stability in red wines: the use of maceration enzymes and enological tannins

Two commercially available maceration enzymes and two enological tannins were tested in Monastrell wines to determine their suitability for improving the chromatic characteristics, colour stability and sensory properties of the resulting wines. The greatest differences for all the wines, when comparing with the control wine, were observed at the beginning of the winemaking process, any differences diminishing in the finished wines. One of the enzyme‐treated wines was used showed hardly any difference from the control wine, whereas the other enzyme‐treated wine showed an improvement in their chromatic and sensory characteristics. The use of two different enological tannins did not provide any improvement in the chromatic and sensory characteristics of the wines, imparting a higher yellow colour and resulting in lower scores in the colour and aroma sensory characteristics, accompanied by a higher astringency, dryness and bitter sensory sensations.     

Micro-oxygenation and oak chip treatments of red wines: Effects on colour-related phenolics,volatile composition and sensory characteristics. Part I: Petit Verdot wines

In this paper, the effects of micro-oxygenation before malolactic fermentation and oak chip treatments on Petit Verdot red wines have been evaluated. Our attention was focused on the colour characteristics, the phenolic compounds related to the colour of red wine, the volatile compounds, and the sensory characteristics of the wines. The micro-oxygenation treatment promoted the stabilisation of red wine colour by increasing the formation of colour-related phenolic compounds (higher concentrations of pyranoanthocyanins and anthocyanin-ethyl-flavan-3-ol adducts). Red wine aroma quality was improved with the addition of oak chips (eugenol and 4-vinyl-guaiacol concentration increased). Micro-oxygenation treatment resulted in higher scores for the plum/currant and spicy attributes, as well as the appearance of tobacco and nutty notes which were absent in the non-treated wines. Nevertheless, the typical oak chip aromas (vanilla and woody) were observed to a lesser extent in wines obtained by micro-oxygenation.     

Influence of the refrigeration technique on the colour and phenolic composition of syrah red wines obtained by pre-fermentative cold maceration

The vinification technique called pre-fermentative cold maceration is used to enhance the anthocyans diffusion from the skins to the must, increasing the pigments extraction. For using this technique the application of low temperatures is needed. In this study, two different refrigerating methods (dry ice and cooling of grapes) have been assessed regarding the colour and the phenolic composition of the Syrah wines elaborated by applying pre-fermentative cold maceration. Results showed more intense and stable colours when grapes were previously refrigerated in cold-storage rooms, which showed higher values of chroma and more red-bluish hues. As regards phenolic composition, the cold maceration technique used yields to significant differences among the levels of phenolics, having higher levels of anthocyanins and some non-coloured phenols as flavonols in PR wines. Regarding the colour-composition relationships, it has been highlighted the importance of the co-pigments such as flavonols and cinnamic acids for classify the two groups of samples.     

Comparative study of browning and flavan‐3‐ols during the storage of white sherry wines treated with different fining agents

White sherry wines were treated with three fining agents (activated charcoal, PVPP and Riduxhigh), in addition to an initial treatment with casein and bentonite, in four different combinations. The wines were stored at 20 or 30 °C for 1 year with a view to examining changes in their flavan‐3‐ol fraction and differences in their degree of sensitivity to browning. Flavan‐3‐ol monomers and dimers, as well as browning measured as absorbance at 420 nm, increased during storage in all the wines. After this period the wines treated with fining agents containing activated charcoal, PVPP and Riduxhigh exhibited less marked browning, with no significant differences among them at both 20 and 30 °C. However, taking into account the higher initial colour of bottled wines treated with Riduxhigh in relation to those treated with activated charcoal or PVPP, this fining agent showed higher capacity to control browning. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Free and bound volatile compounds as markers of aromatic typicalness of Moravia Dulce, Rojal and Tortosí red wines

Rojal, Moravia Dulce and Tortosí are three red minority grape varieties grown in La Mancha region (Spain). In this work, wines from these grape varieties were elaborated across four harvests (2006-2009). The aroma of wines was studied by instrumental and sensory analysis to determine their typicality and quality. Free and glycosidically-bound aroma compounds were isolated by solid phase extraction (SPE) and analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS analysis of wines identified 75, 78 and 80 free aroma compounds and 59, 62 and 62 bound aroma compounds in Moravia Dulce, Rojal and Tortosí wines, respectively. C₆ and benzenic compounds were the major components of free varietal aroma. Bound aroma fraction was characterised by a larger concentration of benzenic and C₁₃-norisoprenoid compounds, which suggest that these wines possess a great aroma potential.     

Profiles of Phenolic Acids and Flavan‐3‐ols for Select Chinese Red Wines: A Comparison and Differentiation According to Geographic Origin and Grape Variety

The profiles of phenolic acids and flavan‐3‐ols for the selected Chinese red wines and the potential of using phenolic acids and flavan‐3‐ols to differentiate the geographic origin and grape variety of wines from China are investigated in this study. Significant differences and markers could be found according to the geographical origin and grape variety. Through a canonical discriminant analysis a good differentiation was developed according to the geographic origin or grape variety, and the accuracy of the discriminant model was 88.9% and 100%, respectively. According to the phenolic acid and flavan‐3‐ols profiles of the wine samples and good differentiation in the region and the variety discriminant analysis, minimal fraudulent claims were noted for the Chinese red wines investigated.