Making balanced red wines

Making balanced red wines

Three variables, such as maceration time, temperature, and pumping over frequency, condition the extraction of compounds from grapes. The maturation balance reached at the time of harvest, along with the character of the wine sought, are determining factors in determining and adjusting these variables, taking as reference the extraction process of the different components during the maceration phases.

During the first moments of alcoholic fermentation, anthocyanins, and varietal aromatic compounds are extracted. However, there are varietal compounds that, in high concentrations, can be undesirable and cause sensations of lack of maturity or greenness. We are talking about pyrazines, present in quality varieties widely used in world viticulture (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot).

Among the methoxypyrazines, iso-butyl-methoxy-pyrazine (IBMP) is of particular importance, and it is responsible for the green pepper aroma characteristic of some wines. Its low perception threshold of up to 1-2 ng/l (Mozzon, 2016) in less structured wines makes it noticeable to many consumers, being considered an olfactory defect at contents more significant than 15 ng/l.

The presence of pyrazines in the grape skin makes it impossible to eliminate them in red vinifications, so they are transferred to the must during maceration. For this reason, the production strategies to reduce its perception will reside in the masking of these compounds, for which preparations will be carried out in which the increase in tannic structure and fruity profile predominates.

This will balance the bouquet of the wine, preventing the herbaceous aromas, specifically the green pepper, from being predominant. C6 compounds are other compounds responsible for herbaceous aromas. Their presence in the wine provides vegetal sensations associated with grapes with irregular ripening.

The appearance of alcohol during fermentation gives rise to a hydroalcoholic solution with greater extraction capacity. Under these conditions, the integuments that cover the seed degrade, resulting in the extraction of seed tannins.

Seed tannins are monomers or polymers of up to 5-6 units. Because they have a low molecular weight, they are very reactive, highly concentrated, and incredibly astringent. Some of the aromatic compounds described above and included in the well-known C6 compounds are found in the seeds.

This is why, at the end of fermentation, the extraction of the most astringent compounds occurs, as well as those responsible for herbaceous aromas. The strategies to follow in each fermentation will, therefore, have to consider these aspects, assessing how the macerations should be according to the components we want to extract in a majority way.


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