Influence of the refrigeration technique on the colour and phenolic composition of syrah red wines obtained by pre-fermentative cold maceration

The vinification technique called pre-fermentative cold maceration is used to enhance the anthocyans diffusion from the skins to the must, increasing the pigments extraction. For using this technique the application of low temperatures is needed. In this study, two different refrigerating methods (dry ice and cooling of grapes) have been assessed regarding the colour and the phenolic composition of the Syrah wines elaborated by applying pre-fermentative cold maceration. Results showed more intense and stable colours when grapes were previously refrigerated in cold-storage rooms, which showed higher values of chroma and more red-bluish hues. As regards phenolic composition, the cold maceration technique used yields to significant differences among the levels of phenolics, having higher levels of anthocyanins and some non-coloured phenols as flavonols in PR wines. Regarding the colour-composition relationships, it has been highlighted the importance of the co-pigments Such as flavonols and cinnamic acids for classify the two groups of samples. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.