Abstract
Wine chemical analysis was carried out on 194 commercial blended red wines produced by two major wine-growing areas—the Aquitaine (France) and Rioja (Spain) regions—in order to compare the wines of both regions. Anthocyanins and derived pigments, tannins and derivatives were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS (high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detector and mass spectrometry using the electrospray ionization interface). Mean degree of polymerization (mDP) was determined. The influence of the wine-growing region and the predominance of the properties of some grape varieties used are confirmed by the significant differences observed between both regions. Rioja and Bordeaux “generic” (Bordeaux and Bordeaux-Supérieur appellations) red wines showed the highest anthocyanic content and the highest mDP, as these wines are in a majority made from Merlot (Bordeaux “generic”) and Tempranillo (Rioja). On the contrary, Bordeaux “specific” regions (Blayais, Médoc, Graves, and Libournais) showed the red wines with the highest total phenolic content and tannin concentration, as the predominant grape variety used is Cabernet Sauvignon. A principal component analysis (PCA) and a hierarchical ascendant classification (HAC) suggesting patterns between the chemical parameters and the distribution of the red wines in three groups were proposed. The comparison of the two wine-growing areas also reveals some similarities between the various grape varieties used. A general effect of a progressive decrease in anthocyanins, anthocyanin-derived pigment and tannins is observed for older wines.
Highlights
IntroductionEspecially anthocyanin and tannin content, is one of the most important wine attributes
Phenolic composition, especially anthocyanin and tannin content, is one of the most important wine attributes
This study aims to investigate the phenolic composition of red wines from two major wine-growing areas: Aquitaine in the Southwest of France (44◦ 850 north and 2◦ 440 west), and Rioja in the North of Spain (42◦ 200 north and 2◦ west)
Summary
Especially anthocyanin and tannin content, is one of the most important wine attributes. The red wine colour is due to the presence of anthocyanins, directly extracted from grape skins, and anthocyanin-derived pigments, formed during wine-making and ageing. This is the result of interactions among other phenolic compounds, extracted during the wine-making process [1,2], leading to the stabilization of wine colour. They can react with each other to form anthocyanin oligomers [3,4], or with flavan-3-ol units through a direct condensation or the formation of an ethylidene bridge, leading to the formation of stable red-purple pigments [5]. Pyranoanthocyanins are more stable than flavan-3-ol/anthocyanin adducts as their additional pyranic ring formed during the cycloaddition step provides more stability towards nucleophilic attack [17]
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