1 °C; and dryness index – DI: 200 mm, humid. The summed GDD results for the period of the phenological cycle (budburst – harvest) of the grapevines characterised São Joaquim – SC as “Region I” (<1389 GDD), that is a “cold region” in terms of the Winkler Regions. It is believed that the São Joaquim regional characteristics (orographic, climate) are favourable for the cultivation of vines and consequently the production of high quality wines. Falcão, de Revel, SB431542 mouse Rosier, and Bordignon-Luiz (2008b) verified these characterisations, mainly through obtaining good results for the volatile composition of Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced

in this region. In this study, an HPLC-DAD–MS method was developed to characterise and quantify the main monomers (catechin, epicatechin, gallocatechin, epigallocatechin and epicatechin gallate), PA dimers (B1 and B2) and

their phloroglucinol find more adducts in the Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah wines, from 2006 and 2007 vintages, from São Joaquim – SC, Brazil. The ability of these wines to scavenge DPPH and ABTS radicals and to inhibit lipid peroxidation in vitro (TBARS – thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) were also evaluated, as well as their correlation with the flavan-3-ol composition. All chromatographic solvents were HPLC grade and were purchased from Carlo Erba (Rodano, Italy). Pure, HPLC grade (+)-catechin (C), (−)-epicatechin (EC), (−)-gallocatechin (GC), (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC) and (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) were obtained from Sigma (Steinheim, Germany). The PAs B1 [(−)-epicatechin-(4β-8)–(+)-catechin] Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II and B2 [(−)-epicatechin-(4β-8)–(−)-epicatechin] were obtained from Extrasynthese (Genay, France). Phloroglucinol was purchased from Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany). Folin–Ciocalteau reagent,

vanillin, 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), 5,5′-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were purchased from Sigma–Aldrich Co. (St. Louis, USA). Wines from the 2006 and 2007 vintages of the Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah varieties sampled from São Joaquim, Santa Catarina State (SC), Brazil, were analysed. Experimental plots of varieties were delimited in young commercial vineyards and used to make the wines. The region of São Joaquim is located in Santa Catarina State at altitudes of 1200–1400 m, coordinates 28° latitude and 49° longitude, and these are the highest altitudes of vineyards in Brazil. According to the USDA classifications the soil of this region is inceptisol, that is, a well drained soil with a soft friable consistency, a high capacity for water retention and absence of stones (Falcão et al., 2008a).