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BACKGROUND: In wine production, temperature control is important and cooling techniques are frequently used to cool down grape must. Grape compound extraction is facilitated by enzymatic cell wall disassembly. Accordingly, our hypothesis is that the use of an alternating temperature could favor enzyme activity and thus berry compound extraction. RESULTS: White wine grapes (cvs 'Falanghina' and 'Fiano') were kept at 4 °C or at an alternating temperature (4 and 20 °C with a 6‐h interval) for 24 h. During the cooling treatment, berry skin resistance, berry firmness and native enzymes from the cell wall were analyzed; sugars, total acidity, malic acid and polyphenols were also measured. In 'Falanghina', α‐d‐glucosidase, β‐d‐galactosidase and pectinmethylesterase increased in grape berry kept at an alternating temperature, and the berry firmness decreased and the polyphenol content was greater than in the other sample. In 'Fiano', polygalacturonase and pectinmethylesterase were responsable for berry softening and, overall, with an alternating temperature, the activity was higher and, consequently, sugars and polyphenol contents were higher. CONCLUSION: Instead of just cooling wine grape, a 24‐h cycle of low and high temperature on wine grape after harvest could be used to increase cell wall enzyme activity and, consequently, decrease the berry firmness, favouring an increase in sugars and polyphenol contents. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]