Oak Solutions Group has published new research outlining the advantages of using enological oak tannins to help fix and stabilize color in red wine.

Working in conjunction with Rodney Strong Vineyards and Enotrex, the Oak Solutions Group research team conducted an experiment on Pinot noir to evaluate the most effective treatment to benefit color fixation and stabilization during a commercial size trial.

“Our previous trials suggest oak tannin is able to help facilitate color fixation and stabilization by helping to promote bonding of anthocyanins with condensed tannins,” said David Llodrá, director of research and development. “Since we are specialized in oak, we wanted to understand the efficiency of our oak tannin and compare it to another commercial tannin product commonly sold for color fixation.”

Results from the study confirmed that oak tannins applied during maceration had a significant impact on color. Analyses also demonstrated that tr?/tan f² tannins had the highest impact on color fixation and stabilization when compared to another commercial tannin brand, even at lower dose rates.

“The percentage changes in free anthocyanins and bound anthocyanins© as well as the overall color analysis prove that the most significant results can be achieved using this product,” said Llodrá. “It is also important to note that adding condensed tannin did not have a positive effect on color stability. We can conclude that there is already a sufficient amount of condensed tannin present in the grapes, and when extracted properly, this provides enough condensed tannin in solution to fix color without additional input.”

A white paper detailing the research is available.

Oak Solutions Group is a premium oak products company focused on providing expert advice and unparalleled selection. Oak Solutions Group distributes two innovative product lines: ?vOAK forward thinking oak products and tr?/tan innovative oak tannins.