The Effect of Various Carbonic Maceration Treatments on Must and Wine Composition of Marechal Foch

¹ Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1325.

Two approaches were used to induce carbonic maceration (CM) in whole berries of Marechal Foch in the fall of 1986. Treatments in Group 1 consisted of 15%, 30%, 60%, or 100% whole clusters in a fermenting must and in Group 2, 100% whole clusters sealed under anaerobic conditions for two, four, or eight days, respectively. Total acidity was inversely related to both increasing time of maceration and increasing percentage of whole berries. pH and total phenols increased with time of maceration in Group 1. Total phenols were significantly lower in Group 2 only for the 100% whole berry treatment. Alcohol was inversely related to time of maceration but was significantly lower only after eight days. While no statistical differences were shown for color, visual differences were apparent with a nearly linear relationship between color and increasing time of maceration in Group 2 and an inverse and nearly linear relationship between color and increasing percentage of whole berries in Group 1.

Key words: acidity, carbonic maceration, Marechal Foch, phenols

Submitted on July 22, 1988