"Aaron Puhala" > wrote in message >...
> Hi Andy,
>
> I've never heard of too long a maceration resulting in no tannins? Have you
> experienced this yourself or can you give me a reference? I believe some
> very fine CA cabernets and blend producers utilize upwards of 35-40 days of
> extended maceration with plenty of tannins remaining in the wine.
>
> CHEERS!
>
> Aaron
>

Yes, but they are starting with grapes that contain higher tannin
levels than (at least I) get in my grapes shipped from California.

Who are the wineries doing the extended maceration that long? The
wineries I know that use (or used) extended maceration tend to be on
the early drinking side rather than the long lasters. Of course, in
general, new world producers have that reputation anyway.

Extended maceration promotes polymerization of the tannins resulting
in a softer wine. UC Davis literature includes this comment concerning
extended maceration :

"The surface of the skin cells may additionally
provide a nucleating center for the precipitation or polymerization of
compounds,decreasing their concentration in the wine."

I have also experienced this myself when doing extended maceration.
The tannin level may increase over the short term, but then the
tannins soften and round out. If you start with a wine that has little
tannin to begin with and employ extended maceration, this could cause
a further reduction of the already low tannin level.

There is also some indication (in other references)that extended
maceration can reduce the acid content of the must due to an increase
in the potassium extracted from the skins causing more acid to form
bitartrate which precipitates out.

BTW, UC Davis appears to believe that extended maceration does nothing
to increase the extraction from the skins:

"Several studies have shown that both extended maceration and cold
soak do not really impact the level of skin components in the wine, as
the principle factor enhancing extraction is high temperature."


Andy