Changes of Phenolic Acids During Aging of Organic Wines

Grapes (Vitis vinifera L. origin var: Carignane, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenache, Columbard, and Semillon) were cultivated and processed according to accepted organic agriculture and organic wine techniques. Aged wines (5 years) were evaluated for changes of their phenolic acids. The highest reduction of gallic acid concentrations were determined in Cabernet Sauvignon (24.36 mg/L) and Carignane (16.00 mg/L) wines. The quantities of p-hydroxybenzoic acid decreased mostly in Carignane (22.47 mg/L) and Columbard (20.84 mg/L) wines. The decreases of syringic acid were dominant in Cabernet Sauvignon (2.34 mg/L) and Carignane (1.69 mg/L) wines. In the case of ferulic acid, the highest reduction was determined in Cabernet Sauvignon (3.97 mg/L) wines. The decreases of p-coumaric acid contents were the same and mostly in Merlot (1.06 mg/L) and Grenache (1.035 mg/L) wines. The principal component analyses results demonstrated the relations among aged wines produced from different grape varieties and their phenolic acids. The distribution of data was accumulated into two groups. The first group included total phenols, gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, and Merlot/Carignane/Grenache wines. The second one included ferulic acid and Cabernet Sauvignon wine.