Effect of Fermentation Practices on Pinot noir Wine Quality 1995-1996

Winemakers commonly attribute differences in color, color stability, and phenolic composition to\ud different fermentation practices. The extraction of anthocyanin pigments and other phenolic compounds\ud from the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems to a large degree determines the composition and quality of red\ud wines.\ud During the 1994 vintage we designed a trial to evaluate a range of commercial processing practices for\ud their effects on color and phenolic composition, and wine quality of Oregon Pinot noir wines. In\ud addition to significant differences observed due to fermentation processing practices preliminary trials\ud with several yeast strains also showed differences in wine color and phenolic profiles. During the 1995\ud vintage a trial was established to evaluate fourteen commercial yeast strains as well as spontaneous\ud fermentations for their effect on color, phenols, and wine quality