Abstract
Enological tannins are widely used in the winemaking process either to improve different wine characteristics (color stability, among others) or to compensate for low tannin levels. In this work, the influence of the addition of two different enological tannins, mainly composed of hydrolysable (ellagitannins) and condensed tannins, on the evolution of color and pigment composition of two different types of model systems containing the five main grape anthocyanins was studied. In addition, the effect of the addition of an enological tannin on the color and pigment composition of red wines made from Vitis vinifera L. cv Tempranillo grapes was also studied by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS). Results showed that, in model systems, the addition of the enological tannin favored the formation of anthocyanin-derived pigments, such as A-type and B-type vitisins and flavanol-anthocyanin condensation products, provided that the yeast precursors were previously supplied. Moreover, model systems containing the enological tannins were darker and showed higher values of chroma at the end of the study than control ones. The higher formation of these anthocyanin-derived pigments was also observed in the red wines containing the enological tannin. Moreover, these wine also showed lower lightness (L*) values and higher chroma (C*ab) values than control wines, indicating a higher stabilization of color.
Highlights
Wine color is one of the first features that consumers perceive
A higher formation of anthocyanin-derived pigments, such as A-type and B-type vitisins or flavanol-anthocyanin acetaldehyde-mediated condensation products, was observed in the wines supplied with enological tannins
It seems that the addition of the enological tannin protects the anthocyanins against oxidation, which might be related to the presence of ellagitannins in the enological tannin
Summary
Wine color is one of the first features that consumers perceive. On the one hand, color can condition the acceptance of the wine. Wine color provides important information about its age, quality, state of preservation, etc. Anthocyanins are the main compounds involved in the color of the wine. They are extracted from the grape skins to the must, being mainly responsible for the color of young wines. Anthocyanins progressively disappear because of various chemical reactions that lead to new derivatives. Anthocyanins and flavanols can condense either directly or by mediation of acetaldehyde or other compounds [1]. Some of these reactions cause bathochromical shifts in the visible absorption maxima of the anthocyanins, providing a bluish-red hue to the wine [2,3]
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