GESVIN research group has recently published a paper on the characterization of the phenolic composition of wines obtained by the traditional method of carbonic maceration. The objective of the work was to generate new insights about the phenolic composition and the color of carbonic maceration wines. To do this, we worked for two years with two red varieties: Tempranillo and Graciano, which were elaborated by two different winemaking systems: on the one hand, by traditional destemming and crushing; on the other hand, by carbonic maceration. The two fractions obtained by carbonic maceration, i.e. free-run and press fractions, were elaborated separately. Wines were compared in terms of their color characteristics and their monomeric phenolic composition analyzed by UHPLC-MS.
Very notable differences were observed between the wine made by the traditional method and those made by carbonic maceration, the latter presenting less intensity of color and a lower content of phenolic compounds. Specifically, the detailed analysis of the wines using the UHPLC-MS technique showed that carbonic maceration wines have a lower concentration of anthocyanins and flavonols. In addition, in the case of carbonic maceraton wines, the fraction obtained from the free-run wine had higher content of flavanols and hydroxycinnamic acids. The differences found in terms of its phenolic composition may explain its peculiar organoleptic characteristics.
This work has been carried out within the framework of regional research projects co-financed 50% by the Government of La Rioja and by aid from the European Regional Development Fund, granted to the Regional Government of La Rioja, within the FEDER Operational Program of La Rioja 2014-2020. It was also financed by MCIN/AEI 10.13039/501100011033, Project RTI2018-096051.
The work has been published in Open Access mode in the Food Chemistry journal:
Javier Portu, Ana Rosa Gutiérrez-Viguera, Lucía González-Arenzana and Pilar Santamaría. 2023. Characterization of the color parameters and monomeric phenolic composition of 'Tempranillo' and 'Graciano' wines produced by carbonic maceration. Food Chemistry, 406: 134327.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.134327
