Implications of blending wines on the relationships between the colour and the anthocyanic composition

The effect on the colour of the mixture of wines from different red varieties has been studied. In it make concrete, the effect of adding wine from Graciano cv. ([G]) on the colour and anthocyanic composition of Tempranillo cv. wine ([T]) has been studied. For this purpose, successive binary mixtures of [G] and [T] monovarietal red wines were prepared, and analyzed just after mixing, 24 h later, and 100 days later to determined the evolution occurred along this period. Results showed differences between varieties. Regarding the colour, [G] led to quite darker (lower L*) and colourfulness (higher C-ab*) wines. During the evolution phase, [G] showed more stable colour while higher colour differences (Delta E) were found in [T]. Concerning the anthocyanic content, Pn3gl and Pn3ac showed almost exclusive in [G] wines. Decreases of Df3gl, Pt3gl and Mv3gl were found in [T] during the evolution phase. Higher values of Delta E occurring in the mixtures than in [T] and [G] indicated lesser colour stability. This extra modification (mixing effect) is practically independent of the chemical composition since the added-Delta E is quite constant in all mixtures. Correlations between colorimetric coordinates and anthocyanic content were also determined and it has been revealed that the inclusion of coumarate derivatives data improved the regressions. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.