Properties of Wine Polysaccharides

Abstract

Polysaccharides are the main macromolecules of colloidal nature in wines, and play a fundamental role in the technological properties and organoleptic characteristics of the wines. The role of the different wine polysaccharides will depend on their quantity but also on their chemical composition, molecular structure and origin. Wine polysaccharides originate from grapes and yeast acting during the winemaking. The main polysaccharides present in wines can be grouped into three major families: (i) polysaccharides rich in arabinose and galactose (PRAG), (ii) polysaccharides rich in rhamnogalacturonans (RG-I and RG-II), which both come from the pectocellulosic cell walls of grape berries, and (iii) mannoproteins (MP) released by yeasts. This paper describes the origin, structure and role of the different wine polysaccharide families through a bibliographic revision of their origin and extraction into the wines, as well as their technological and sensory properties.