Chemical characterization of phenols and taste-activesubstances in wine using liquid chromatography - massspectrometry

Wine characterization of taste and odor of a wine is important to keep up with consumersinterest and ensure quality of wine. In Sweden, wine is sent for destruction every year and oneof the reasons is that some wines have a deviant taste and odor profiles than described on thelabel. The aim for this project was to perform a chemical analysis of wine to identify differenttaste-active compounds to connect to different taste sensations such as sweetness, acidity,bitterness and the mouthfeel of astringency. Wine profile patterns were also created todistinguish between the composition of these compounds in sixteen different wines of differentcolors. The targeted compounds were fifteen compounds which included phenolic compounds,amino acids and organic acids. The analysis were performed by liquid chromatography massspectrometry. A literature survey was performed for selection of an appropriate method for theanalysis of the targeted compounds. Fourteen out of fifteen compounds were detected in thewine samples. Fifteen out of sixteen wines contained tartaric acid, while proline was found inall wines and vanillin only in one sparkling wine. The red wines showed higher concentrationsin compounds connected to bitterness and astringency and sparkling wine contained higheramounts of the compounds connected to sweet and sour taste. The wine profile patterns werecompared to see both similarities and differences within the same color wines