Flavonoids in Gran Negro berries collected from shoulders and tips within the cluster, and comparison with Brancellao and Mouraton varieties

Galicia (the north-western corner of Spain) is a Spanish region with several old-traditional winegrowing areas. Vitis vinifera L cv. Mencia is one of the most often used to produce quality red wines but the tendency of the world wine-making market is to reward the production of wines that have particular and differentiated characteristics. In Galicia, there are other red cultivars such as Gran Negro which were not exploited for their potential to produce quality red wines. Dynamics of anthocyanin and flavonol accumulation in Gran Negro berries were studied separately in two different positions within the cluster (tips and shoulders) during 30 days before harvest to assess the existence of different polyphenol quality in both positions and as a consequence, red wines with different qualities. Dynamics of anthocyanins over ripening confirmed that anthocyanins presented upward trends (from 1510 to 1727 mg/kg in tips; and from 1532 to 1728 mg/kg in shoulders) but dynamics of flavonols confirmed that maximum values were reached and stabilised thirty days before harvest (from 45 to 39 mg/kg in tips; and from 49 to 45 mg/kg in shoulders). No differences were observed in anthocyanin and flavonol contents collected from tips and shoulders which indicates that is not necessary to harvest them separately. The results from Gran Negro were compared with those of Brancellao and Mouraton. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.