Characterization of the Phenolics and Free Radical Scavenging of Romanian Red Wine

ABSTRACT

The goal of the present work was to study the influence of winemaking procedures and the effect of bottle-aging on the antioxidant activity and on the variation of low molecular weight phenolics of Feteasca Neagra and Negru Aromat red wine from the Valea Calugareasca vineyard, Romania. The free radical-scavenging activity was measured using the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical from bottles sampled every 3 months up to the 9th month. The results indicated that Negru Aromat obtained by classical maceration had the highest activity at 6th month. The high-performance liquid chromatography results showed that the most abundant low molecular weight phenolic compounds were catechin, (−)-epicatechin, gallic acid, malvidin, and peonidin 3-O-glucoside. For the phenolics, Feteasca Neagra prepared by classical maceration and Negru Aromat by run-off juice were the richest. For anthocyanidins, the Feteasca Neagra and Negru Aromat wine by classical maceration had the highest concentrations. These results suggest that classical maceration is the winemaking procedure of choice to obtain the highest quality wine from the Valea Calugareasca vineyard.

KEYWORDS:

• Anthocyanidins
• high-performance liquid chromatography
• phenolics
• Romanian wine
• winemaking

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mrs. Aurelia Tudorache, manager of ICDVV Valea Calugareasca, for supplying the red wine.