Altenative management of lees in the vinification of Sangiovese grape

This study arises from the need to recover by-products of winemaking that are still able to provide active wine compounds such as polyphenols, aromas and polysaccharides. The role of lees in the traditional aging of wine has been reported. There is no doubt that lees-wine contact contributes to the quality of wine but the key compounds and interactions responsible for wine improvement are still not completely clear. In any case, the positive effects of aging on lees are reached after a long period of contact and periodic “bâtonnage” as described by several authors. This work presents an alternative approach to lees management on an industrial scale as performed by the fully automatic ExtraVelvet 1.0 system with the aim of recovering by-products of winemaking with very short processing times.