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WI ne MAKI n G The key role of color The anthocyanins responsible for red col- or readily combine with tannins, which are similar in composition, with one im- portant difference. Anthocyanins are not ortho-diphenols and cannot daisy chain, so they act like bookends, terminating the polymer. The more anthocyanins, the shorter the resulting polymers and the finer the tannins. Heavily colored wines like Syrah tend to handle their tannins bet- ter than light wines like Pinot Noir, which have a tendency towards dryness. The more anthocyanins we start with, the shorter the polymers we end up with. Smaller polymers lead to smaller colloids. Not only do these feel softer and finer, they have higher surface area. This gives aro- matic compounds more interface, easier access to ring stacking in the structure as opposed to appearing in the nose. That's why the finer the texture of a sauce or a wine, the dreamier it tastes. Measuring the monomeric anthocya- nin concentration of a young red wine to gauge this potential is very useful but slightly tricky. It's bad news for the ama- teur wine enthusiast with a cellar that red wine's darkness itself is not useful for de- termining this potential. Color density doesn't account for the degree to which field oxidation may have polymerized pigment, particularly in cases of long hang time. Wines that look very dark may actually be quite fragile. It helps to look for an overly amber edge, a bad sign. You can't make a soufflé from eggs that are already scrambled. Because acetic acid bacteria are not inhibited by the pigment-bound SO2 anthocyanins types as well as alcohol con- tent and other factors. Fuhgeddaboudit. The best available molar estimator for anthocyanins is an offshoot of the Adams astringency assay4 called BP (bleachable pigment). Easy enough to run, its LPP (long-chain polymeric pigment) is also a good analytical index of dryness. Problem solved. You're welcome. Young pigments are very vulnerable and , phenolic vigor is all that protects young red wine. For technical winemakers, there is more bad news. The standard Somers-Boulton spectrophotometric methods for color aren't much better. They look at mono- meric anthocyanins at pH 3.6, where only 15%-30% of anthocyanins are in the col- ored form, and this amount varies widely according to the precise ratio of the five THE REVIEWS ARE IN for 2010 reds & whites made in our egg-shaped, Concrete fermentation Tanks easily lost to adsorption by lees and attack by enzymes. Once incorporated into poly- mers, they are protected. Early stabiliza- tion of color through cascading polymer- ization benefits wine's appearance, texture and aromatic properties. The diphenol cascade promotes color stabilization di- rectly through polymerization, but also indirectly by aldehyde bridging. Each turn of the diphenol cascade pro- present, the peroxide will combine with it to form sulfuric acid (H2 ), a highly reactive oxidant with a strong affinity for SO2. If there is any O2 acid that lowers pH and lends a firm au- thority to the finish. Prior to malolactic, thus before SO2 SO4 has been added, peroxide will instead oxidize ethanol to acetalde- hyde, which is believed to form bridges ), a strong duces a molecule of hydrogen peroxide (H2 "The temperature in the french tanks got up to 75º, but in this (temperature controlled) tank, it's never above 53º." Cliff lede Vineyards | Kale anderson, winemaKer "i'm already blown away by the color density from concrete versus stainless steel." Thomas GeorGe esTaTes | Chris russi, winemaKer "one of the things i like about these concrete fermentors is that the egg shape forces the cap to stay submerged." sTone edGe farm | Jeffrey BaKer, winemaKer Releasing for 2011 Harvest: 1,500-Gallon Truncated Tanks! tanksinconcrete.com 888.807.4575 "…concrete gives the wine the weight and texture of a barrel fermentation, but rather than tasting like a barrel, the wine tastes like where it was grown." wind Gap winery | pax mahle, winemaKer Wines & Vines APRiL 2011 57