Influence of Terrain on Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Cabernet Sauvignon wines in Loess Plateau Region of China

Two vineyards with different terrains (site A: 1280 m versus site B: 909 m) in Xiangning County of Shanxi Province located in Loess Plateau region were chosen to study phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of Cabernet Sauvignon wines by different analytical methods: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH center dot), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), superoxide radical-scavenging activity (SRSA) and ferric thiocyanate (FTC). The results showed that the contents of total phenolics, flavonoids and flavanols in site B wine were significantly higher than those of site A wine, the content of anthocyanins was basically identical; the antioxidant activity of site B wine was higher, but the magnitude of the difference existed in different analytical methods, especially for DPPH and CUPRAC assays; the contents of 9 individual phenolics of site B wine were basically higher than those of site A wine. The fact is concluded that different terrain truly affected on quality of wines, the contents of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of wine from lower altitude vineyard were relatively higher than those from higher altitude vineyard.