Flint glass bottles cause white wine aroma identity degradation

Due to marketing recommendations, white wines are often bottled in flint glass to improve aesthetics and showcase wine color. Although this practice is known to cause a wine fault, the influence of light on the fruity and flowery aromatic profile of wine is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes to the white wine volatilome under typical supermarket shelf conditions, using 1,052 bottles of 24 white wines. After only 7 d of shelf life in flint glass bottles, a dramatic loss in terpenes (10 to 30%) and norisoprenoids (30 to 70%) was recorded, whereas colored glass bottles did not evidence such behavior even after 50 d, and darkness preserved the wine’s fruity and flowery aromatic integrity. We also proposed an alternative mechanism for the insurgence of the lightstrike off-odor, which takes the varietal aroma loss into account. In light of this understanding of the flint glass negative impact on white wine aroma identity and sensorial character, this packaging should be strongly discouraged. The same findings should be valid for a wide range of several daily consumed foodstuff where transparent packaging is use

Multivariate characterisation of Italian monovarietal red wines using MIR spectroscopy

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the application of mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis, to provide a rapid screening tool for discriminating among different Italian monovarietal red wines based on the relationship between grape variety and wine composition in particular phenolic compounds. Methods and results: The MIR spectra (from 4000 to 700 cm\u20121) of 110 monovarietal Italian red wines, vintage 2016, were collected and evaluated by selected multivariate data analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (DA), support vector machine (SVM), and soft intelligent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA). Samples were collected directly from companies across different regions of Italy and included 11 grape varieties: Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Aglianico, Nerello Mascalese, Primitivo, Raboso, Cannonau, Teroldego, Sagrantino, Montepulciano and Corvina. PCA showed five wavelengths that mainly contributed to the PC1, including a much-closed peak at 1043 cm\u20121, which correspond to the C\u2013O stretch absorption bands that are important regions for glycerol, whereas the ethanol peaks at around 1085 cm\u20121. The band at 877 cm\u20121 are related to the C\u2013C stretching vibration of organic molecules, whereas the asymmetric stretching for C\u2013O in the aromatic \u2013OH group of polyphenols is within spectral regions from 1050 to 1165 cm\u20121. In particular, the (1175)\u20131100\u20131060 cm\u20121 vibrational bands are combination bands, involving C\u2013O stretching and O\u2013H deformation of phenolic rings. The 1166\u20131168 cm\u20121 peak is attributable to inplane bending deformations of C\u2013H and C\u2013O groups of polyphenols, respectively, for which polymerisation may cause a slight peak shift due to the formation of H-bridges. The best result was obtained with the SVM, which achieved an overall correct classification for up to 72.2% of the training set, and 44.4% for the validation set of wines, respectively. The Sangiovese wines (n=19) were split into two sub-groups (Sang-Romagna, n=12 and Sang-Tuscany, n=7) considering the indeterminacy of its origins, which is disputed between Romagna and Tuscany. Although the classification of three grape varieties was problematic (Nerello Mascalese, Raboso and Primitivo), the remaining wines were almost correctly assigned to their actual classes. Conclusions: MIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics represents an interesting approach for the classification of monovarietal Italian red wines, which is important in quality control and authenticity monitoring. Significance and impact of the study: Authenticity is a main issue in winemaking in terms of quality evaluation and adulteration, in particular for origin certified/protected wines, for which the added marketing value is related to the link of grape variety with the area of origin. This study is part of the D-wine project \u201cThe diversity of tannins in Italian red wines\u201d

Phenolic and furanic compounds of Portuguese chestnut and French, American and Portuguese oak wood chips

Botanical species used on aging process must be wisely and judiciously chosen, and for this selection, a basic knowledge of the chemical composition of woods is warranted. Aiming to contribute to extend the knowledge of the chemical composition of several wood species useful for enological purposes, we have focused our studies on Portuguese chestnut and French, American and Portuguese oak chips. The profile of low molecular weight phenolic composition of these chips was achieved, using an optimized extraction method based on pressurized liquid extraction, followed by the quantification of phenolic acids, phenolic aldehydes and furanic derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD). The identification of those compounds was also confirmed by LC-DAD/ESI-MS. This study allowed the determination of the low molecular phenolic composition of Portuguese chestnut and French, American and Portuguese oak wood. According to our results, the influence of the botanical species seems to be more relevant than the geographic origin of the wood species

A Metabolomic Approach to the Study of Wine Micro-Oxygenation

Wine micro-oxygenation is a globally used treatment and its effects were studied here by analysing by untargeted LC-MS the wine metabolomic fingerprint. Eight different procedural variations, marked by the addition of oxygen (four levels) and iron (two levels) were applied to Sangiovese wine, before and after malolactic fermentation