Experimental design approach for the evaluation of anthocyanin content of rosé wines obtained by pulsed electric fields. Influence of temperature and time of maceration

This study investigated the effect of maceration time (0–6 h) and maceration temperature (4–20 °C) on the anthocyanin content of Cabernet Sauvignon rosé wines obtained from grapes treated with pulsed electric fields (PEF) (5 kV/cm; 50 pulses). A response surface model based on a modified central composite experimental design was used to describe the influence of these factors. Wines obtained from PEF-treated grapes, consistently presented higher anthocyanin content than control wines after 2 months of storage in bottles. At a fixed maceration time of 2 h, the PEF treatment allowed the necessary reduction of the maceration temperature to obtain an anthocyanin level of 50 mg/L from 20 to 4 °C. This temperature reduction could decrease the oxidation of phenols and the loss of aromatic compounds, thus increasing the quality of rosé wine. According to our results, PEF is a promising technique to improve the anthocyanin extraction and to reduce the maceration time for the production of rosé wines at cold temperatures.