Exploring Alternative Maceration Techniques: Nitrogen vs. Carbonic Maceration in Gamay Variety Wines

In the carbonic maceration process, a sealed tank is utilized to place entire grape bunches, with carbon dioxide either naturally occurring or intentionally created. The physical and chemical metabolism of berry cells is significantly altered by this CO₂ saturation, which results in a change in the range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). As an alternative to traditional carbonic maceration (CM), the use of nitrogen (NM) in the maceration process to create anoxic conditions in the Gamay teinturier variety was investigated in this study. It is hypothesized that during the two methods of maceration, the two gases will operate differently in the grape berry cell, thereby leading to changes in the wine's VOC patterns in addition to other grape and wine characteristics. The chemical analysis revealed that NM wine has higher levels of anthocyanins and polyphenols. While NM wine had a slightly higher total alcohol concentration, CM wine had the highest ester content in terms of volatile organic compounds. The highest concentration of volatile medium-chain fatty acids was likewise found in CM wine. The color of the wine was affected by the different concentrations of anthocyanins; NM wine had the lowest tonality and the greatest color intensity value. The samples were clearly separated according to E-nose measurements, and the PCA computation showed that the analyses of E-nose data andVOCs overlapped. NM demonstrated promise as an environmentally friendly method, helping to produce a unique style of macerated and aromatic wines