Wine Phenolic Composition, Classification and Health Benefits

Advances in the wine sector and especially in the phenolic compounds field have been spectacular over the last 20 years. Polyphenols are the second most abundant class of substances in nature. Wine phenolics are of considerable interest and receive more and more attention due to their implication in the organoleptic appreciation of wines (colour, flavour, astringency, bitterness, enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning, haze formation, aging behaviour) and to their bioactive functions (antioxidants, cardiovascular protective, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anticancer). This book covers the chemistry of grapes and wine phenolics, the analytical methods for phenolic compounds analysis, the health benefits of wine phenolics and the revalorization of wine chain by-products in terms of polyphenols recovery. Included within the contents are cutting edge chapters on the impact of winemaking processes on the wine phenolic composition, the relationship between laccase and polyphenols, resveratrol as a major bioactive compound and the usage of phenolic compounds for assessing of wine authenticity. Written by a group of international scientists, this book provides up-to-date reviews, overviews and summaries of current research on the wine phenolics, as well as original research. This book is an important publication which will be of great use to enologists, chemists, process engineers, biochemists, pharmacologists and food scientists. Libraries in all universities and research establishments where these subjects are studied and taught should have copies of this book on their shelves.