P. Jeandet et al., RESVERATROL CONTENT OF WINES OF DIFFERENT AGES - RELATIONSHIP WITH FUNGAL DISEASE PRESSURE IN THE VINEYARD, American journal of enology and viticulture, 46(1), 1995, pp. 1-4
Since the pioneering work of Siemann and Creasy, reporting that resver
atrol is present in wine and may protect against heart diseases, much
interest has been focused upon this compound which is produced by grap
evines in response to fungal infection. We have investigated here the
influence of aging on the resveratrol content of wine through the anal
ysis of wines of different ages. Resveratrol appears relatively stable
in wine. The relationship between the level of resveratrol in a wine
and the fungal disease pressure in the vineyard for a given vintage ha
s also been examined. it is suggested that conditions leading to infec
tion by Botrytis cinerea enhance resveratrol production, but that exte
nsive grey mold development may destroy the induced phytoalexin. Thus
years with low levels of disease are associated with maximum wine conc
entration of resveratrol.