Anthocyanins
Lorenzo in Glossary
August 24, 2020
Anthocyanins are flavonoids, in the polyphenols family, responsible for the colors in red wine.
They accumulate mainly in the skin of grapes and have tones from red to blue and purple.
The most common anthocyanins in grapes and wine are malvidin, which gives a dark red color, petunidin, cyanidin and peonidin.
They are not much present in white grapes, and therefore in white wine, while their quantity in red grapes depends a lot on the different grape varieties.
Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir are grapes with low levels of anthocyanins, and which give wines with a lower color intensity.
Barbera and Cabernet Sauvignon are rich in anthocyanins and give wines with very bright colors.