| Summary: | Astringency is a parameter of great importance for wine quality. During wine maturation in wooden barrels it can be enhanced by tannins extracted by the wood. However, their concentration is not directly correlated with astringency. Mean Degree of Polymerization (mDP) is often employed to characterize the structural characteristics of tannins in wines, providing also information on their proanthocyanidin content. The prodelphinidin content (%P), as well as the percentage of epigallocatechin (EGC) in extension and terminal units, have been negatively linked with astringency. Since the intensity of astringency is a decisive factor for the quality of a barrel-aged wine in this experiment, the structural characteristics of wine proanthocyanidins were determined in four different Greek wines, two white (Vilana and Dafni) and two red (Kotsifali and Mandilari). All wines matured for nine months in different types of containers (stainless steel tanks and barrels made of different woods). The prodelphinidin (terminal or extension) content was determined by means of phloroglucinolysis, followed by HPLC-UV-MS analysis, while astringency was assessed by a panel of trained tasters. Multivariate analysis showed that only white wines that matured in Acacia barrels contained high %P values independently of the variety used and were characterized as less astringent by the panel. Moreover, the determination of %extension and terminal EGC units revealed that the tannins of the wines maturing in Acacia barrels, contain higher amounts of EGC as terminal units. These findings could be used by winemakers in order to select the appropriate type of barrel according to the type of wine.
Keywords: Astringency, proanthocyanidin, tannin, barrel
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