Abstract
Anthocyanins are extracted from grape skins during maceration and are responsible for the red colour of wine. Their contribution to in-mouth sensations is mainly related to their interactions with condensed tannins, which are largely responsible for wine astringency and mouthfeel-related features. Recently, the influence of several groups of polyphenols, together with other relevant non-phenolic wine constituents,was investigated in terms of their ability to modify the sensory perception of condensed tannins. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of three acylation groups of anthocyanins (glucoside, acetylglucoside, and p-coumaroylglucoside) extracted from grape skins on in-mouth related features. An extract of total anthocyanins and their individual fractions were tasted using different sensory approaches (triangle test, check-all-that apply and descriptive analysis) and compared to polyphenols extracted from grape skins and seeds. The investigated sensations were overall astringency and astringency sub-qualities, which were divided into two groups: sensation during tasting (in-mouth, particulates) and sensation after expectoration (surface smoothness). Bitterness was also studied. Anthocyanin fractions were added to skin and seed extracts and tasted as mixtures to find out if anthocyanins modify in-mouth perception. Although the anthocyanin fractions showed a low sensory impact, total anthocyanins and the glucoside fraction were perceived at the concentration ranges found in wines (400 mg/L), and they were found to influence astringency intensity and soft astringency sub-qualities, such as “velvety” and “chalky”. The addition of glucoside anthocyanin (400 mg/L) to skin and seed extract (1000 mg/L) modified in-mouth perception; in particular, seed extract was perceived as being more astringent and was characterised by harsher astringency sub-qualities (surface smoothness and particulates). In contrast, the addition of glucoside anthocyanin to the skin extract led to lower surface smoothness, although the intensity of overall astringency was unchanged. These results confirm that the presence of anthocyanins can modify the perception of in-mouth sensations and interact to different extents with other polyphenols, thus leading to the modification of the intensity of astringency and its sub-qualities.
Highlights
In red wines, colour and “in-mouth” features strongly influence the sensory perception of quality (Peynaud, 1987; Parpinello et al, 2009, Piombino et al, 2020)
Because the polyphenol range of a red wine can vary by up to several grams per liter, the concentration chosen for the tasting of these two fractions was 1000 mg/L, which fulfilled the red wine range and allowed the fraction to be clearly perceived by the assessors
The results showed that anthocyanins extracted from grape skins are involved in the “in-mouth” perception of model wine solutions, their contribution is less relevant than other polyphenolic groups, such as condensed tannins
Summary
Colour and “in-mouth” features strongly influence the sensory perception of quality (Peynaud, 1987; Parpinello et al, 2009, Piombino et al, 2020). These characteristics are mainly connected to the polyphenols extracted from black grapes. Wine tannin concentration and properties alone do not represent the full “in-mouth” complexity of wine Wine technological parameters, such as ethanol content, total acidity and pH influence perception of astringency (Pickering and Demiglio, 2008; Fontoin et al, 2008, Laguna et al, 2017). In wine, other macromolecules (e.g., polysaccharides, proteins, and ellagitannins) derived from grape, yeasts, or external sources (e.g., wood used in ageing) can modulate the tannin effect or directly elicit astringency sensations (Glabasnia and Hofmann, 2006; Fukui et al, 2002; Laguna et al, 2017)
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