Influence of Grape Maturity on Complex Carbohydrate Composition of Red Sparkling Wines

This paper studied how grape maturity affected complex carbohydrate composition during red sparkling wine making and wine aging. Grape ripening stage (premature and mature grapes) showed a significant impact on the content, composition, and evolution of polysaccharides and oligosaccharides of sparkling wines. Polysaccharides rich in arabinose and galactose, mannoproteins, rhamnogalacturonans II, and oligosaccharides in base wines increased with maturity. For both maturity stages, polysaccharides rich in arabinose and galactose, and the glucuronic acid glycosyl residue of the oligosaccharides were the major carbohydrates detected in all vinification stages. The total glycosyl content of oligosaccharides decreased during the whole period of aging on yeast lees. The reduction of polysaccharides rich in arabinose and galactose and rhamnogalacturonans type II during the aging was more pronounced in mature samples. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the polysaccharide and oligosaccharide composition of red sparkling wines.

The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the “Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria” (INIA) for the funding provided for this study through project RTA2012-00092-C02-02 (with FEDER funds). L. Martínez-Lapuente also thanks the La Rioja Government for the financing of her predoctoral fellowship.

Peer Reviewed