engleski

The evaluation of colour components during the vinification of Babica and Crljenak kaštelanski

Babica and Crljenak kaštelanski are historic and autochthonous red grape cultivars of the Kaštela wine region (Central Dalmatia, Croatia). In the last few years, C. kaštelanski has been getting distinguishable attention, since it was discovered that it is a parent of the popular American variety Zinfandel and Italian Primitivo. Therefore, C. kaštelanski has become economically important and it has been increasingly cultivated in Croatia, while other cultivars, like Babica, have almost vanished from the Dalmatian vineyards. As the colour of red wines is an important element of wine quality and it is the first feature that influences its commercial acceptance, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the evaluation of the colour components and anthocyanins in Babica and C. Kaštelanski wines. The anthocyanin profile was determined using HPLC, while monomeric anthocyanins and basic colour characteristics of wine (density, hue, chromatic structure, and brilliance) were detected spectrophotometrically. The total monomeric anthocyanins in Babica were higher than in C. kaštelanski, and the dominant anthocyanin in both wines was malvidin-3-glucoside, with over 71 % of all detected anthocyanins in Babica and with over 52 % in C. kaštelanski. The other colour parameters were mainly higher for C. kaštelanski, probably due to the almost six-fold higher content of cyanidin derivatives in C. kaštelanski wine.

red wine, vinification, colour, anthocyanins, HPLC

The present research has been partially supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under the project IP-2013-11-8652.