Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena” PDO authenticity: detection of caramel-containing vinegar by HS-GC-IMS

​For several years, the chemistry of taste has aroused high interest both from academics and industrials. Plant kingdom is a rich and reliable source of new taste-active compounds. Many sweet, bitter or sour molecules have been identified in various plants [1]. They belong to diverse chemical families and their sensory properties are strongly affected by slight structural modifications. As a consequence, the investigation of natural taste-active products in a given matrix appears as a major challenge for chemists. Such studies are particularly relevant in oenology since they allow a better understanding of wine and spirit taste.

The increasingly frequent heat waves during grape ripening pose challenges for high quality wine grape production. Defoliation is a common practice that can improve the control of diseases in bunches, but also it increases the exposure to sunlight. Grapes exposed to solar radiation reach temperatures over the optimum for berry development and maturation. This makes the development of irrigation and canopy management techniques of great importance to maximize yield and grape quality. A field experiment was carried out during 2021 using Manto negro wine grapes to study the effect of applied irrigation and different light exposure levels on grape quality. Two irrigation treatments were imposed based on the frequency and amount of water doses in a four-block experimental vineyard at Bodega Ribas (Mallorca). Three light exposure treatments were randomly applied in each irrigation plot. The light treatments included exposed clusters from pea size, non-exposed clusters, and shaded clusters after softening. Leaf area index and canopy porosity was estimated every 2 weeks. Midday leaf water potential was measured weekly. Additionally, apparent electrical conductivity was measured between rows to estimate the soil water content variability. Light and temperature sensors were installed at the bunch level to quantify the differences in bunch temperature and light intensity among treatments. The effect of irrigation and cluster light exposure on berry weight, TSS, TA, malic acid, tartaric acid, K+, and pH were analysed at 5 moments along grape ripening. During different heat waves, the natural shading technique decreased the maximum bunch temperature around 10 °C respect to the exposed bunches in both irrigation strategies. The combination of defoliation and shading techniques after softening decreased TSS at harvest and affected most of the quality parameters during the last stages of ripening, showing an interesting technique to delay ripening in warm viticulture areas.

The aim of this work was to study the trapping capacity of four polyaniline polymers towards phenolic compounds in wine-like model solutions. METHODS: The model wine solution was composed of 12% (v/v) and 4 g/L of tartaric acid adjusted to pH = 3.6. A series of centrifuge tubes (15 mL) were filled with 10 mL of model solution enriched with 50 mg/L of five phenolic compounds (i.e., Gallic acid, caffeic acid, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, and rutin), and treated with different doses of PANI polymer (i.e., 0, 2, 4 and 8 g/L). After the addition of the polymer, the samples were stirred using a platform shaker at room temperature (20 ºC) for 2, 8, 16 and 24 h. All treatments included three replications.

Cognac spirit aromas result from the presence of a wide variety of volatile odorous compounds associated with the modalities of distilled spirit elaboration and during aging. Indeed, these odorous compounds play an essential role in the finesse and complexity of the aged Cognac.

There is a high demand in the wine industry for analytical methods able to provide useful information to support the decision-making process in the vineyard and in the winery. Ideally these methods should be rapid (e.g.