Changes of physicochemical properties and antioxidant activities of red wines during fermentation and post-fermentation

The goal of this study was to vinify four varieties of grapes, namely Vitis labrusca L (Gerbong), Vitis labrusca B (Campbell Early), Vitis labrusca (Muscat Bailey A) and Vitis hybrid (Sheridan), and to investigate the changes in the physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of the red wines during fermentation and post-fermentation. The ethanol content of the four red wines varied only slightly from 11.4%-12.8%, indicating that no significant change occurred during the fermentation and post-fermentation. The total anthocyanin and phenol contents as bioactive compounds were the highest level in the Vitis labrusca B red wine. The antioxidant activity was also the highest of 88.9% after 10 days fermentation in the Vitis labrusca B red wine and showed from only 36.6% to 61.7% in the other red wines, though the range decreased to 33.1%-64.1% during post-fermentation for 120 days at 4°C. Our results show that the Vitis labrusca B red wine has the potential to become a functional red wine because of its high antioxidant activity.