High-Power Ultrasounds as a Tool for the Formation of Stable Pigments During the Aging of Red Wines

Abstract High-power ultrasounds (US) have been consolidated as a useful tool for obtaining wines with high levels of phenolic and aromatic compounds. However, the lack of semi-industrial-scale studies on the aging of these wines highlights the need to study the potential effects of grape sonication on the wine evolution processes. Phenolic composition analyses were conducted at different stages (bottling, and after 6 and 12 months of aging in bottle) on wines made using US on crushed grapes and with different maceration times (48 h, 72 h, and 7 days). The results not only show a higher concentration of phenolic compounds at bottling due to the application of US but also demonstrate an enhanced aging potential in those wines, attributed to the presence of polymerization reactions and the formation of stable pigments. This was observed even in wines with short maceration times, which also exhibited greater stability of their phenolic composition. Thus, the increase in the concentration of polymerized compounds observed after 6 months in wines made from sonicated grapes was around 35% higher than that of the control wine and around 42% after 12 months.