Evolution of flavonoids in Mouratón berries taken from both bunch halves

Abstract

Galicia (N.W. Spain) is a Spanish region with several old-traditional winegrowing areas. There are autochthonous grapevine varieties, such as Vitis vinifera L. cv. Mouratón, considered a biodiversity resource in viticulture and an opportunity for Galician sustainable wine production. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the potential of traditional cultivars to produce quality red wines. In this work, anthocyanin and flavonol evolution was followed in red berries from V. vinifera L. cv. Mouratón. The novelty of this study is that grapes were separately collected from two different positions (tips and shoulders) within the cluster, over ripening to examine the effects of berry position within the fruit cluster on the flavonoid compounds. Derivatives of five anthocyanins (malvidin, peonidin, petunidin, delphinidin and cyanidin) and derivatives of six flavonols (quercetin, myricetin, kaempherol, laricitrin isorhamnetin and syringetin) were detected in both positions within the cluster. Dynamic of anthocyanins (from 819 mg/kg to 1206 mg/kg in tips; and from 786 mg/kg to 1077 mg/kg in shoulders) and dynamic of flavonols (from 25mg/kg to 41 mg/kg in tips; and from 18 mg/kg to 21 mg/kg in shoulders) confirmed their upward trends over ripening. Grapes located inside the shoulder bunch receive less sunlight radiation than those located inside the tip bunch and this fact could explain the different accumulation observed for both positions. These results can be useful for winemakers in order to obtain different final red wine quality.