Wine color practice of saignée (exposing wine to red grape skins for only a short period of time in order to give it a lighter feel closer to that of white wine) or by blending a white wine with a red wine. The presence of a complex mixture of anthocyanins and procyanidins can increase the stability of color in wine. As it ages, the wine undergoes chemical autoxidation reactions involving acetaldehyde of its pigments molecules. The newly formed molecules are more stable to the effect of pH or sulfite bleaching. The new compounds include pyranoanthocyanins like vitisins (A and B), pinotins and
Classification of wine vintage year to wine quality. Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion of wine that is not from the labeled vintage. A varietal wine is wine made from a dominant grape such as a Chardonnay or a Cabernet Sauvignon and labeled by the name of the grape variety. The wine may not be entirely of that one grape and varietal labeling laws differ. In the United States a wine needs to be composed of at least 75% of a particular grape to be labeled as a varietal wine. In the European Union, a minimum of 85% is