Terpenoids and norisoprenoids in Italian red wines

AIM Terpene compounds are associated with fl oral notes and are characteristic of aromatic grape varieties such as Muscat (Jackson,2008). They are generally considered to potentially contribute to the aroma of white wines. However, there is a growing interesttowards the potential contribution of terpene compounds to the aroma of red wines. The aim of this work was to investigate theoccurrence of diff erent terpenes in red wines from Italian varieties. METHODS For this study wines from 11 mono-varietal Italian redwines from 12 regions were used (19 Sangiovese, 11 Nebbiolo, 10 Aglianico, 11 Primitivo, 10 Raboso del Piave, 9 Cannonau, 11 Teroldego,3 Nerello, 9 Montepulciano, 7 Corvina). All samples were from vintage 2016 and none of them had been in contact with wood. A totalof 19 terpenes and 7 norisoprenoids were analysed by mean of SPME-GC-MS analysis using a DVB-CAR-PDMS fi ber. The wines werecollected in the framework of the activities of the D-Wines (Diversity of Italian wines) project. RESULTS Signifi cant diff erences amongvarieties were observed for basically all the compounds analyzed with the exception of limonene. Overall, the concentrations of thevarious terpenes remained in the same order of magnitude. However, some diff erences are noticeable between varieties. Corvina wascharacterized by higher level of linalool, followed by Aglianico, Nebbiolo, Primitivo and Sangiovese. Cyclic terpenoids appeared asgood varietal markers, for instances Montepulciano was characterized by 1,4-cineole and 1,8-cineole, whereas Sangiovese showedhigher levels of p-cymene, α-terpinene and 1,4-cineole. Higher terpinene-1-ol content was characteristic of Montepulciano and Rabosowines. Relatively high levels of the norisoprenoid β-damascenone were found in Cannonau up to 3.68 μg/L. CONCLUSIONS This studyprovide the fi rst survey of a large number of terpenoids and norisoprenoids in diff erent mono-varietal Italian red wines. The resultsshowed that a large number of terpenoids were present in Italian red wines with specifi c profi les related to the varieties