Evolution of fatty acid contents in Garnacha and Viura musts during fermentation and the aging of wine

Abstract

The evolution of fatty acids during the fermentation of Vitis vinifera var. Garnacha and var. Viura musts as well as during the aging of the rose and white wines produced from the said musts was studied. In Garnacha must, practically all the fatty acids were consumed, with the exception of the medium-chain fatty acids, by the time that 50% of the sugar was used up. During the second half of fermentation 80.1% of the fatty acids were consumed, with 28.8% of the remaining fatty acids being used up during aging. In Viura must, the total fatty acid concentration declined 46.9% during the first half of fermentation (first 50% of sugar), most noteworthy was the high consumption of unsaturated large-chain fatty acids (72.3%); during the second half of fermentation, 77.2% of the fatty acids were used, with high consumption of the large-chain saturated and unsaturated acids. During the aging of wine, medium-chain fatty acids were excreted and a small amount of unsaturated acids was consumed.