PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Anna L. Carew
AU  - Warwick Gill
AU  - Dugald C. Close
AU  - Robert G. Dambergs
TI  - Microwave Maceration with Early Press Off Improves Phenolics and Fermentation Kinetics in Pinot noir
AID  - 10.5344/ajev.2014.13089
DP  - 2014 Jun 19
TA  - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
PG  - ajev.2014.13089
4099  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2014/06/13/ajev.2014.13089.short
4100  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2014/06/13/ajev.2014.13089.full
AB  - Microwave maceration with early press off was applied to Pinot noir must and produced wine with faster fermentation kinetics and significantly higher yeast assimilable nitrogen than control must, and 10% greater juice yield than heat macerated must. UV-visible spectrophotometry showed microwave maceration wine as equivalent to, or greater than, control wine for: total pigment, anthocyanin, tannin and non-bleachable pigment concentration. Microwave maceration was compared with heat maceration, and phenolic differences apparent in juice were not sustained in bottle-aged wines. Histological examination of grape skins showed more substantial intra-cellular damage in microwave macerated skins than heat macerated and control skins. The results suggest microwave maceration with early press off warrants serious consideration as an efficient production process for phenolic-rich Pinot noir wine.