Impact of Various Prefermentation Treatments on the Pigment, Polyphenol, and Volatile Composition of Industrial Red Wines Made from Vitis vinifera cv Maratheftiko

Abstract

The grape variety Maratheftiko (V. vinifera sp.) is one of the most prestigious Cypriot varieties, yet Maratheftiko wines are rather poorly studied with regard to principal quality characteristics, such as the polyphenolic and aromatic profile. The current study was undertaken with the scope to investigate the effect of various common industrial prefermentation treatments on the non-volatile and volatile fractions of Maratheftiko wines, in two consecutive harvests. Different lots of grapes underwent the saigneé process, which was also combined with cold maceration, and/or enzyme and tannin addition, and the wines produced on industrial scale were analyzed to portray their profiles of anthocyanins, non-anthocyanin polyphenols, and volatiles. The non-anthocyanin composition was found to be dominated by flavonol glycosides (mainly quercetin 3-O-glucuronide), but also caftaric acid. The major anthocyanin pigment in all wines examined was malvidin 3-O-glucoside, accompanied by its p-coumarate derivative. The principal volatiles determined were isoamyl alcohol, ethyl octanoate, 2-phenylethanol, ethyl caprate, and isoamyl acetate. Principal component analysis revealed that the wines could be clearly discriminated based on vintage year but not based on the different treatments. This study offered novel insights into the composition of Maratheftiko wines and provided some evidence regarding the impact of common enological techniques on their non-volatile and volatile fractions.