Impact of carbonic maceration and oak barrel aging on aroma and phenolic compounds of red wines from vitis vinifera L.CV öküzgözü

In the present study, the effects of carbonic maceration (CM), oak barrel aging (OBA), and classic processing (as control wine) methods on aroma and phenolic compounds of Öküzgözü red wines were investigated. With respect to the relative aroma composition, CM wine possessed the highest content in higher alcohols acetates (HAAs) and ethyl esters of fatty acids (EEFAs), accounting respectively for 8.60% and 12.96% of total esters, whereas these values represented 4.34% and 6.83% in the control wine, respectively. Moreover, OBA wine was distinguished by the presence of oak aroma compounds, cis-oak lactone, and furfural. The results of aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), combined with aroma activity values revealed, ethyl hexanoate, isoamyl acetate, diacetyl and its alcohol derivatives levo and meso-2,3 butanediols as the main aroma-active compounds of CM wine, whereas cis-oak lactone, ethyl hexanoate, isoamyl acetate, and 4-vinyl guaiacol represented the main aroma-active compounds of OBA wine. The RP-HPLC analysis revealed that CM wine contained the highest concentration of anthocyanin monomers with an average of 756.65 mg/L, followed by control wine (657.15 mg/L) and OBA wine (578.80 mg/L). In contrast, CM led to red wine with less total tannins compared to OBA (2.11mg/L against 3.79 mg/L). The wines were further subjected to a Descriptive analysis (DA), from which all selected aroma attributes appeared to be positively correlated to the overall aroma quality. Moreover, the "red fruits" descriptor was assessed as the most pronounced of the aroma attributes in the three styles of wine, and its highest intensity was recorded in CM wine. Öküzgözü wines produced by CM are characterized by dark ruby red color, easy drinking, low tannins, intense red fruits and lacte aromas.