Technical and economic evaluation of maceration of red grapes

For red wines, the phase of maceration is fundamental as it affects important features such as colour, aroma and flavour. For wines for everyday consumption these features must provide an easily drinkable product with a good quality basis that is consistent over time. In recent years two methods of maceration seem to guarantee these objectives better than others, while also allowing good work organization and automation: hot maceration and pneumo-carbonic pumping over. These techniques have been evaluated in a large winery, defining their production potential, labour requirements, energy consumptions and economic costs. Chemical and sensory evaluations were carried out on wines produced from grapes with the same characteristics.