Pre-Fermentation Treatments
Maceration Pelliculaire
Extended skin contact (also called maceration pelliculaire, a term reserved for white wines) that is characterized by the length of time the juice is left in contact with the skins and seeds after crushing, but before pressing (Darias-Martin et al., 2000). Numerous studies have shown that skin contact increases wine flavor and viscosity or body, due to extraction of the many flavors and phenolic compounds that are found in grape skin (Godden, 2016).
Practical Considerations
Skin contact delivers its biggest dividends with highly aromatic white grape varieties: Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Muscat, Viognier, Chenin Blanc, and aromatic hybrids like Muscat. It allows for the diffusion of fruity aromas and aroma precursors from the grape skins, as well as the extraction of some desirable phenolics, and contributes to the body and ageing potential of the wine.
Risks Maceration Pelliculaire
If the grapes are not mature or diseased the diffusion of substances into the juice leads to various flaws in the wine: vegetal aromas of unripe grapes, astringency and bitterness of phenolic compounds from seeds, skins and stems and moldy, earthy and fungal odors from spoiled grapes. If Botrytis is present on fruit when conducting prefermentation skin contact, it can lead to rapid oxidation due to the laccase enzyme.
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