No abstract

The phenolic composition of red wine impacts upon the color and mouthfeel and thus quality of the wine. Both of these characteristics differ depending on the age of a wine, with the purple of young wines changing to brick red and the puckering or aggressive astringency softening in older wines. This study investigated the color parameters, tannin concentrations and tannin composition of a 50 year series of Cabernet Sauvignon wines from a commercial label as well as 30 year series of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz wines from a separate commercial label to assess the impact of wine age on phenolic composition and concentration. The wine color density in wines of 40 to 50 years old was around 5 AU compared with 16 AU of wine less than 12 months old, which correlated well with the concentration of non-bleachable pigments and pigmented polymers. Conversely, the anthocyanin concentrations in 10 year old wines were substantially lower than that of recently bottled wines (around 100 mg/L compared with 627 mg/L, respectively), adding further evidence that non-bleachable pigments including pigmented polymers play a much larger role in long-term wine color than anthocyanins. No age-related trend was observed for tannin concentration, indicating that the widely noted softer astringency of older red wines cannot necessarily be directly related to lower concentrations of soluble wine tannin and is potentially a consequence of changes in tannin structure. Wine tannins from older wines were generally larger than tannins from younger wines and showed structural changes consistent with oxidation.

Commercial red wines ( Vitis vinifera L. cv. Shiraz) produced during the 2009 vintage underwent winemaker assessment for allocation grade soon after production. The wines were then subjected to phenolic analysis to measure wine color (total anthocyanin, SO(2) nonbleachable pigment, and wine color density) and tannins (concentration, composition, and average degree of polymerization). A positive relationship was found between wine phenolic concentration and projected bottle price. Tannin compositional analysis suggested that there was specifically a relationship between wine grade and skin-derived tannins. These results suggest that maximization of skin tannin concentration and/or proportion is related to an increase in projected wine bottle price.

Different molecular structures of grape tannins have been shown to influence astringency, however, the in-mouth sensory effects of different molecular structures in red wine tannins remains to be established. The objective of this research was to assess the impact of wine tannin structure on in-mouth sensory properties. Wine tannin was isolated from Cabernet Sauvignon wines of two vintages (3 and 7 years old) and separated into two structurally distinct subfractions with liquid-liquid fractionation using butanol and water. The aqueous subfractions had greater mean degree of polymerization (mDp) and contained a higher proportion of epigallocatechin subunits than the butanol-soluble subfractions, while the older wine tannin fractions showed fewer epicatechin gallate subunits than the younger tannin fractions. The red wine had approximately 3:1 mass ratio of the aqueous and butanol tannin subfractions which approximated an equimolar ratio of tannin in each subfraction. Descriptive sensory analysis of the tannin subfractions in model wine at equimolar concentrations revealed that the larger, more water-soluble wine tannin subfractions from both wines were perceived as more astringent than the smaller, more hydrophobic and more highly pigmented butanol-soluble subfractions, which were perceived as hotter and more bitter. Partial least squares analysis indicated that the greater hydrophobicity and color incorporation in the butanol fractions was negatively associated with astringency, and these characteristics are also associated with aged wine tannins. As the larger, water-soluble tannins had a greater impact on the overall wine astringency, winemaking processes that modulate concentrations of these are likely to most significantly influence astringency.

Volatile compounds released from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grape glycoside fractions, isolated from both skin and juice, were studied by sensory descriptive analysis and by gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS). Both acid-and enzyme-hydrolysates were studied. The contribution to wine aroma of the different fractions was evaluated by sensory analysis of white wines to which the hydrolysates had been added. Acid-hydrolysates from each variety increased the intensity of attributes such as tobacco, chocolate and dried fig. In contrast, glycosidase enzyme-hydrolysates gave no detectable change in aroma. The relationship among the aroma attributes of the hydrolysates and their volatile composition was investigated using partial least square regression analysis (PLS), which indicated that the intensity of the attributes dried fig, tobacco and honey could be related to the concentration of specific compounds of the norisoprenoid, benzene derivative, monoterpene and aliphatic classes. The red-free glycosyl-glucose (G-G) concentration of the skin extracts and juices was correlated with the scores of aroma attributes of the glycoside hydrolysates, suggesting the potential of the G-G assay as a predictor of wine aroma.The awareness that glycosidically-conjugated volatile compounds are present in grape berries and other fruits has stimulated substantial research interest in these constituents. Research on glycosidic flavor precursors has been the subject of several reviews (1-6). In the case of wine grapes, it is becoming evident from sensory studies that grape berry derived glycosidically-bound volatile compounds are capable of making a contribution to varietal wine flavor.For the non-floral white grape varieties Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon