Cyclodextrin-mediated improvement of red wine color quality dissected by coloromics and anthocyanin evolution...

This study elucidated the mechanisms by which pre-fermentation addition of cyclodextrins (CDs) regulates anthocyanin transformations and wine color evolution using a mechanistic coloromics approach. Musts were treated with α-CD, β-CD, and HP-β-CD, and 79 anthocyanins across 11 structural categories were profiled to characterize pigment pathways. Multivariate chemometric analyses integrating pigment composition with color and UV-Vis spectral parameters revealed distinct regulatory effects. α-CD accelerated the depletion of monomeric anthocyanins and promoted their conversion into vitisin-type pyranoanthocyanins, enhancing red hue intensity and chromatic evolution. In contrast, β-CD and HP-β-CD slowed monomer conversion and facilitated gradual formation of derived pigments, improving long-term color stability. Chemometric analyses (PCA, PLSR, Mantel test, and CCA) further indicated that CD cavity size and flexibility selectively stabilize anthocyanins and intermediates, thereby modulating pigment formation. Overall, α-CD acts as an active kinetic regulator that channels unstable free anthocyanins into resilient vitisin-type pyranoanthocyanin networks, while β-CD and HP-β-CD function as passive stabilizers through steric shielding of monomeric and acylated anthocyanins, together providing a strategy to improve wine color quality.