Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Primitivo Wine: Comparison among Winemaking Technologies

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of 9 winemaking technologies (traditional, delestage, saignée, delayed punching-down, addition of grape seed tannins, addition of ellagic-skin-seed tannins, heating of must-wine, cryo-maceration, and prolonged maceration) on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of Primitivo musts and wines. Three methods for the determination of the antioxidant activity were compared: DPPH, beta-carotene bleaching assay, and ABTS. Oenological parameters and composition of the phenolic fraction of 1-y-aged wines was also determined. The addition of tannins allowed the increase of the phenolic content of musts and wines in a greater amount than the other technologies. The results concerning the antioxidant activity depended on the method applied. Concerning musts, the DPPH assay did not highlight great differences among technologies, whereas the addition of tannins allowed the obtainment of the highest antioxidant activity according to beta-carotene and ABTS assays. The wine aging determined an increase of the antioxidant activity, independently on the method applied. Wine obtained through traditional technology, saignée, and addition of tannins showed the highest antioxidant activities according to DPPH and beta-carotene. The highest correlation coefficients (0.961 and 0.932) were calculated between phenolic content and ABTS values of musts whereas the lowest values (0.413 and 0.517) were calculated between phenolic content and ABTS values of wines. Wines produced through traditional technology were the richest in anthocyanins. The addition of tannins allowed to obtain high content in monomeric anthocyanins, flavonoids, flavans reactive to vanillin, and coumaroylated malvidin and a low content in acetylated malvidin. Practical Applications: It is well known that a moderate consumption (equivalent to 2 glasses per day) of red wine is actually recommended since it appears associated with a decreased incidence of cardiovascular diseases. The mechanisms involved in this protective effect are not completely understood although they appear related to the presence of phenolic compounds. To increase the intake of these compounds without increase of the wine consumption, it is necessary to improve their extraction during maceration. This study could represent a helpful tool for wineries aimed to know the way to increase the antioxidant content of their wines, thus changing them in functional beverages and prolonging their shelf life.

Characterization of the Phenolics and Free Radical Scavenging of Romanian Red Wine

“…The lowest concentrations were obtained for the addition of tannins (52.25 mg L -1 for Feteasca Neagra and 51.14 mg L -1 for Negru Aromat). These results are in agreement with the data published by Baiano et al (2009), who considered that the small levels of anthocyanidins in wine obtained by the addition of tannins is a consequence of the formation of bonds between tannins and anthocyanidins.…”

Evolution of polyphenolic compounds in red wine from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes processed by pulsed electric fields during aging in bottle

“…Red wines have a very complex phenolic composition that depends on the grape variety used, but also it is strongly affected by winemaking techniques and oenological practices (Baiano, Terracone, Gambacorta, & La Notte, 2009;Cantos, Espín, & Tomás-Barberán, 2002;Sun, Spranger, Roque-do-Vale, Leandro, & Belchior, 2001).…”

Tannins and Anthocyanins: From Their Origin to Wine Analysis – A Review

“…Different studies on thermovinification have found that the concentration of anthocyanins increases (Lowe et al, 1976;Sacchi et al, 2005;Baiano et al, 2009), while the concentration of the flavonoids remains low (Sacchi et al, 2005;Baiano et al, 2009). In one study, Wagener (1981) found that the wine made from systems (Imeca and Sernagiotto plants) in which they used a destemmer and final press was very dark in colour and astringent.…”

“…Methods like cold soaking/maceration (McMahon et al, 1999, Gómez-Plaza et al, 2000, Álvarez et al, 2009Gil-Muñoz et al, 2009) could release more colour from grape skins, while post-fermentation maceration (Zimmer et al, 2002) could release more tannins, as the alcohol will help in releasing the tannins. Thermovinification (Lowe et al, 1976, Sacchi et al, 2005Baiano et al, 2009) and carbonic maceration (Gómez-Míguez & Heredia, 2004;Sacchi et al, 2005;Etaio et al, 2008) can also be used to extract anthocyanins and tannins from the skins. These methods will have variable success, as wines made from carbonic maceration will have a lighter colour but will be fruitier (Etaio et al, 2008).…”