Correlations between Antioxidant Activity and Chemical Composition in Diverse Red Wines

Abstract

The antioxidant activity (AA) of 250 red wines was analyzed to explore how wine composition (physicochemical parameters, organic acids, minerals, and phenolic compounds) interrelates with AA. Significant connections were found between AA and factors, such as pH, sugars, specific organic acids, and magnesium. Notably, phenolic groups like catechins, flavonols, hydroxycinnamic acids, and polymeric pigments showed strong correlations with AA, affirming that phenolic compounds predominantly influence wine’s AA. Total phenolic content proved to be a practical, fast, reliable, and effective indirect measure of AA in wines. Surprisingly, resveratrol did not correlate with AA. The study also revealed that “crianza” wines have lower phenolic contents compared to young wines, highlighting the importance of considering the complete spectrum of phenolic compounds to understand wine’s antioxidant properties.