Free Anthocyanins (fANT)

Figure 1. WINEXRAY's representative phenolic profile of a 21-day macerated Bordeaux varietal fermentation (The Future of Winemaking: Honoring the Vision of Professor Roger Boulton, 2022). Free Anthocyanins (fANT) are finite and unstable monomeric pigments generally associated with wine’s purple hue. Most wines lose between 60-80% of their Free Anthocyanins within the first 100 days post-crush (WINEXRAY, Casassa & Harbertson, 2014). In Vitis vinifera, six compounds account for 90% of all anthocyanins in wine, the most common of which is malvidin-3-O-glucoside. Consumers will never see the full-color potential that winemakers witness during fermentation, but what matters is what winemakers choose to do during the critical window when Free Anthocyanins are abundant, and tannins are most reactive. On their own, Free Anthocyanins are tasteless and have no significant contribution to mouthfeel (Casassa & Harbertson, 2014). Within the first several days of fermentation, peak anthocyan