Carbonic maceration vinification: A tool for wine alcohol reduction

Abstract

The increase in alcohol content in wine due to climate change is one of the main challenges that winemakers face today. Previous studies have indicated that carbonic maceration processing can be used to obtain a wine fraction with lower alcoholic strength. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of this technique in obtaining wines with lower alcohol content. For this purpose, seven trials were carried out, studying a total of 63 wines. The physico-chemical, phenolic and aromatic composition of the wines was analysed using official methods and gas chromatography. The results showed that it is possible to obtain a fraction of carbonic maceration wine (25-35% of the total) with a reduction in alcohol content of up to almost 4% depending on the vinification conditions and the grape variety used. Therefore, this CM fraction, marketed on its own, could be a low-alcohol alternative to red wines.