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Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
White Wine Can Also Be Good for You |
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 White wine is traditionally made without the use of grape skins while red wine is made by fermenting the juice along with the skins. The skins give red wine its colour and contain the highest concentration of polyphenols, which are potent antioxidants. The researchers theorised they could boost the antioxidant capacity of white wine by extracting more grape skin polyphenols during processing—but how? The researchers incubated whole squeezed grapes for up to 18 hours, in alcohol, before removing the skins. This resulted in a significant increase of white wine polyphenols—up to six times the normal level—to show antioxidant activity similar to that of red wine.
The addition of alcohol to the fermentation process resulted in an increase in the sugar level of the wine, producing a sweet, dessert-type white wine. The scientists are currently trying to modify the method to create a dry white wine with the same antioxidant benefits. Watch this space. For the full story visit www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/06/010611071331.htm |
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