Extraction of flavan-3-ols from grape seed and skin into wine using simulated maceration

Simulated maceration assays were carried out in wine model systems using increasing ethanol percentages from 0 to 12.5%, in order to study the extraction of flavan-3-ol monomers and oligomers from grape skins and seeds. The amount of flavan-3-ols transferred to the solutions improves with the increase in the alcohol percentage, although flavanols were much more readily released from grape skins than from seeds. Maximum release of flavanols from the skins is reached after 24 h of maceration in 12.5% ethanol, whereas long maceration and higher ethanol percentages were required for extraction from the seeds, from which maximum flavanol extraction was observed after 2–3 weeks of maceration. Thus, the length of the maceration not only had an influence in the total levels of flavanols reached in the wines, but also in their qualitative composition. The contribution of the seeds to the flavanol composition of the model wines was found to range from about 40% at 24 h of maceration in 12.5% ethanol to as high as 90% after 3 weeks. Gallocatechin was the major flavanol contributed by the skins and catechin by the seeds of the grape variety used (Vitis vinifera cv. Viura). Flavanol extraction was also followed during winemaking of commercial red wines, reaching similar conclusions to that obtained from the model assays.