Antioxidant activity of sparkling wines produced by Champenoise and Charmat methods

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of 19 Brazilian sparkling wines produced by Champenoise and Charmat methods. All sparkling wines tested showed significant antioxidant activity, both in vivo and in vitro assays. in general, the Charmat brut possessed more antioxidant activity than Charmat demi-sec and Champenoise samples. In most of the sparkling wines studied, the majority compound found was gallic acid, although trans-resveratrol, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicathechin and procyanidins B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4, were also identified. Significant differences were observed in the concentrations of these compounds, when considering the assemblage used and the production methods. The wine industry around the world uses similar oenological technologies and the wines are divided into categories, for example, in relation to sugar concentration or elaboration methods. The findings of this study would help the wineries to determine the sugar contents and time to mature (sur lie) appropriate for sensorial characteristics desired by the winemakers and consumers. Furthermore, the data can offer an improvement in the biological properties of the sparkling wines. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.