Determination of the impact of bottle colour and phenolic concentration on pigment development in white wine stored under external conditions

Abstract

The exposure to sunlight of a Sauvignon blanc wine stored in bottles of different colours has been examined. Wine in darker bottles (Antique Green and French Green) showed considerably more colour development than wine in clear (Flint) or lighter (French Green) bottles, provided a high concentration of catechin-type phenolic compounds was present. Xanthylium pigments were identified by LC-MS as one of the main contributing phenolic pigments to the increased colour in the dark bottles. This is the first observation of yellow xanthylium pigments in a white wine. A Principal Component Analysis of the variation in absorbance measurements at Day 59 of the exposure further confirmed the importance..