Impact of Adding Ellagic Acid to Red Grapes on the Phenolic Composition and Chromatic Quality of Cabernet Sauvignon Wines from a Warm Climate

Abstract

In this study, the effect of adding ellagic acid (Ea) before alcoholic fermentation on the phenolic composition and chromatic quality of Cabernet Sauvignon wines were investigated. The evolution of the color and polyphenolics was determined by tristimulus colorimetry and HPLC-MS during the industrial-scale winemaking process, which showed that the prefermentation addition of Ea could obtain more saturated and vivid hue wines, consistent with the significant increase in anthocyanins concentration. The copigmentation effect induced by Ea was also confirmed by the higher copigmentation degree in the treated samples. Thus, the addition of Ea could provide a simple and useful enological technique to enhance the red wine quality, improve the intensity and stability of wine color, and can be employed as an alternative strategy for obtaining high-quality red wines from a warm climate region (e.g., Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China). Practical Application The main objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of adding Ea before alcoholic fermentation on color and phenolic compounds of red wines, which could be helpful in reasonably application of copigment additives and enlargement the understanding of the chemistry of interaction between this copigment and anthocyanins. Although the Ea is currently not approved for use in wines in somewhere of world, this addition treatment could provide a useful enological technique to enhance the intensity and stability of red wine color. For this reason, we believe that this study is valuable in providing useful insights for future research.