Effects of sulfur dioxide on wine made with sulfitic maceration

Sulfitic maceration is part of a technique used in large companies to store must through the superdosing of sulfur dioxide added after the destemming of the grapes. The objective of this study was to analyze the physico-chemical characteristics of the wines elaborated by sulfitic maceration. The study was conducted at the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA), Campus Dom Pedrito, RS, Brazil. Three vinifications (identified by treatments 1, 2 and 3) were performed with 3 replicates each. The grapes used were the cultivar Alicante Bouschet. Treatment 1 underwent the same procedures as treatment 2, except for the dosage of 1400 mg.L−1 of added sulfur dioxide. The grapes were destemmed, crushed and macerated for 2 days and before fermentation started, the must was heated to remove SO2. In the treatment 3 a traditional maceration was carried out for 5 days. The physicochemical characteristics of the wines were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and the results were analyzed by statistical analysis of comparison of averages. The color intensity of treatment 2 showed no significant difference in relation to the treatment 3, demonstrating that with 2 days of sulphitic maceration, occurs a color extraction similar to a traditional 5-day maceration