Glycosidase activities in sound and rotten grapes in relation to hydrolysis of grape monoterpenyl glycosides

β-D-glucopyranosidase, α-L-arabinofuranosidase and α-L-rhamnopyranosidase activities were studied in grapes, both during maturation and in sound and rotten mature fruits. Enzymic activities increased during maturation. At maturity, in sound grapes, β-D-glucopyranosidase and α-L-arabinofuranosidase activities were the highest ones. Berry infection by fungi results in a decrease in β-glucosidase activity, while the others increase. The effect of an enzymic extract from a culture of Botrytis cinerea towards synthetic terpenyl glycosides showed that hydrolysis was strong for β-terpenyl rutinosides and weak for β-terpenyl 6-0-α-L-arabinofuranosyl-β-D-glucopyranosides

Volatile and glycosidically bound composition of Loureiro and Alvarinho wines

Composition of Loureiro and Alvarinho wines from the Vinhos Verdes region, respecting free volatile compounds as well as glycosidically bound aroma precursors, was exhaustively determined by GC-MS after adsorption on XAD-2 resin. On the whole, were identified and quantified 120 volatile compounds in the free fraction and 77 glycosidically bound compounds, belonging to C6-compounds, alcohols, fatty acids ethyl esters, esters of organic acids, acetates, monoterpenic alcohols, monoterpenic oxides and diols, C13-norisoprenoids, volatile phenols, volatile fatty acids and carbonyl compounds. Globally, the wines of the two cultivars present similar composition on volatiles. However, respecting varietal compounds, Loureiro wines are richer than Alvarinho ones with regard to C6-compounds and monoterpenic compounds, occurring the opposite for volatile phenols. It was also demonstrate that wines of both varieties may benefit the aroma reserve, present as glycoconjugates, as it is susceptible of being technologically explored. Linalool, Ho-trienol, α-terpineol, contributing with fruity and floral notes, and β-damascenone mostly for Alvarinho, confering tropical fruit notes, are the varietal compounds which may particularly influence the aroma of these wines. Respecting fermentative compounds, Alvarinho is also particularly rich in fatty acids ethyl esters related to lipid metabolism and acetates of fusel alcohols, which can provide it a fruity character; Loureiro contains higher levels of esters of organic acids and 2-phenylethanol, conferring fruity and floral notes. Sensory analysis agree with chemical analyses showing a pronounced tree and tropical fruit character for Alvarinho wines while Loureiro wines present more intense citrus fruit notes.Centre of Biological Engineering of Universidade do Minho; Estação Vitivinícola Amândio Galhano (EVAG); Solar de Serrade; EVAG; Comissão de Viticultura da Região dos Vinhos Verdes

Instrumental and sensory approaches for the characterization of compounds responsible for wine aroma

More than 800 aromatic compounds have been identified in wine, some of them at the ng/l level. Wine, therefore, constitutes a very complex matrix, from which it is difficult to isolate a specific aroma character. Gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC–O) applied to wine extracts is used to characterize odor-active zones that are often treated in a hierarchical way by Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA). The aromatic impact of the volatiles is evaluated, generally by determining perception thresholds. This methodology has provided convincing results concerning wine flavors, but it does have its limitations. Forinstance , data on b-damascenone have demonstrated that these methods could reach their limits for this volatile, in particular, because of the non-quantitative representation of aroma extracts of wines, and because of the difficulty to accurately determine the perception threshold in wines for a compound already present. For b-damascenone, we have shown that its very low detection threshold with GC–O, its wide range, and its dependence on the composition of the medium resulted in overestimating its direct impact on the aroma of wine. Another way to facilitate the characterization of aromatic compounds was, therefore, investigated. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) methods were developed for the analysis of wine extracts. From an aromatic extract, 25 fractions with various flavors were thus obtained, and reverse-phase methodology was used for the selection and characterization of red- and black-fruit aromas in red wines