Monomeric anthocyanin contributions to young red wine color were investigated using partial least square regression (PLSR) and aqueous alcohol solutions in this study. Results showed that the correlation between the anthocyanin concentration and the solution color fitted in a quadratic regression rather than linear or cubic regression. Malvidin-3-O-glucoside was estimated to show the highest contribution to young red wine color according to its concentration in wine, whereas peonidin-3-O-glucoside in its concentration contributed the least. The PLSR suggested that delphinidin-3-O-glucoside and peonidin-3-O-glucoside under the same concentration resulted in a stronger color of young red wine compared with malvidin-3-O-glucoside. These estimates were further confirmed by their color in aqueous alcohol solutions. These results suggested that delphinidin-3-O-glucoside and peonidin-3-O-glucoside were primary anthocyanins to enhance young red wine color by increasing their concentrations. This study could provide an alternative approach to improve young red wine color by adjusting anthocyanin composition and concentration.
Keywords: monomeric anthocyanins; partial least square regression; quadratic regression; wine color.
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