Multivariate characterization of aging status in red wines based on chromatic parameters

The colour of wine is affected by several factors, among the more important being grape variety, pH, temperature, oenological treatments and aging. Chromatic characteristics of young and aged red wines were studied. Several CIE colour spaces and chromatic systems were determined and subsequently submitted to multivariate statistical techniques such as stepwise discriminant analysis in order to predict and classify the aging status of red wines. When the equations obtained were applied to 71 samples of Spanish young and aged red wines, a high percentage of well-classified samples was achieved.