Polyphenolic content and sensory profile of Montenegrin Vranac wines produced with different oenological products and maceration

Abstract

Polyphenolic compounds, including total phenolics (TP), total anthocyanins (TA) and total flavan-3-ols (TF3-ols), as well as color intensity (CI) and hue (H), determined by spectrophotometric methods, were studied in Montenegrin red wines from Vitis vinifera L. cv, Vranac. Wines were produced by traditional and modern fermentation methods, applying different oenological products (enzyme, oak chips and grape tannins) during two vintages, i.e. 2008 and 2009. Wines produced from the 2009 vintage presented a slightly higher average amount of total phenols (2,878 mg/l) compared to the wines from the 2008 vintage (2,570 mg/l), and similar contents of anthocyanins and flavan-3-ols. The use of modern fermentation tanks (Sifa and Ganimede) followed by the addition of enzymes, oak chips and grape tannins resulted in a higher amount of polyphenolic compounds. Principal components analysis allowed for the grouping of wines according to the vintage and maceration method.