Primary amino acid composition and its use in discrimination of Greek red wines with regard to variety and cultivation region

The primary amino acid content of 54 Greek red wines from several regions and grape varieties was determined by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using precolumn derivatization with OPA (o-phthalaldehyde) and fluorescence detection. For each wine sample, 21 amino acids have been determined. Wine samples from the 4 most common Greek red grape cultivars, which are part of the Greek VQPRD (Vins de Qualité Produits dans des Regions Délimitees) wines, and from 4 foreign red grape varieties, were used. Wines from cv. Kotsifali had the highest amino acid content among the samples from indigenous varieties, followed by those originating from cvs Agiorgitiko, Mandilaria and Xinomavro. In contrast to wines from cv. Grenache rouge, which contained high amounts of amino acids, those from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot had lower amounts. A classification of samples on the basis of variety and region was achieved by application of the discriminant analysis of the amino acid composition data. 22 % of the wine samples, originating from grapes cultivated in 'organic vineyards', had a low arginine content.