Partial characterization of peptides from red wines. Changes during malolactic fermentation and ageing with lees

The peptide fraction of an industrially manufactured red wine has been studied during malolactic fermentation, carried out in stainless-steel tanks or in the barrel and ageing in the barrel, with or without lees, for 12 months. Peptides were fractionated using Sephadex LH-20 and Cosmosil 140 C18-OPN columns, giving two fractions in relation to peptide polarity. The most important changes were detected during malolactic fermentation and during the ageing in barrel with lees. The peptides present in the wine could be glycopeptides from grape or yeast. Most amino acids in the most polar peptides were aspartic acid and/or asparagine, glutamic acid and/or glutamine, serine, glycine, α-alanine and tyrosine and, in the less polar fraction, were glycine, α-alanine and leucine. The amino acid distribution is most different in the most polar fraction, among the studied wines, owing to autolysis and hydrolysis of the polypeptides and proteins.