Practical interventions that influence the sensory attributes of red wines related to the phenolic composition of grapes: a review

The phenolic composition of red wines is complex and intimately involved in colour, taste, mouth-feel and aroma. There have been significant advances in knowledge of compounds with relatively simple structures, but understanding of those with more complex and probably diverse structures is challenging. A number of phenolic compounds may form temporary complexes with anthocyanins and/or be involved in reactions that lead to relatively stable coloured compounds. A wide range of phenolic compounds is implicated in the oral sensory attributes of red wines. Of particular importance are flavan-3-ols, including proanthocyanidins (PAs). The generally observed decline in the extractability of PAs during berry ripening is due to binding with cell wall material, which may occur within the developing berry and also from tissues brought into contact during processing. Studies have shown that exposure/reduced vigour results in an increasing proportion of skin PAs being extractable during wine making. Temperature and light influence anthocyanin with temperature probably being more important and the most sensitive stage being 1-3weeks after veraison. Skin PAs are extracted earlier than those from seeds during wine-making. Recent results suggest some rearrangement of skin and/or seed PAs occurs during vinification which involves the cleavage of large polymers or the aggregation of small ones. The polymeric material is particularly influential in wine astringency and is transformed by incorporation of anthocyanins into tannin-like compounds during wine-making and storage. Although some grape-derived phenolic compounds contribute to the aroma of red wines, likely of greater importance are the effects of nonvolatile phenolics on the volatility of a diverse range of aroma compounds. Advances in analytical techniques are likely to provide greater insights into the structures and conformations of phenolic polymers and the role of cell wall material in relation to phenolic extraction and reaction during vinification. In relation to aroma, much more research is required to reveal the details of the interactions involving phenolics with volatile compounds. It seems likely that the ability to influence the relative extraction and subsequent reaction of skin and seed phenolics is important in the production of full colour, aromatic and long-lived wines.