Arsenic in soil, leaves, grapes and wines

Abstract

The presence of arsenic in food and beverages creates concern because of the toxicity of this element, classified as carcinogenic in humans. The arsenic concentration in soil, vine leaves and berries (cv. Chardonnay) and white wines was studied, considering vineyards near to an old mining area (naturally rich in As), in comparison with others from uncontaminated areas in Trentino (Italy).
All analyses were performed using an inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometer.
In soil, the acqua regia extracted As ranged from 3.7 to 283 mg/kg, whereas bioavailable As varied from 18 to 639 mg/kg. As in washed and acid mineralised leaves and berries was between 16.3-579 mg/kg dw and between <0.1-36.8 mg/kg dw, respectively. As content in wines was always <1.4 mg/L. Pearson’s test showed significant and positive correlations between the As concentrations in soils, leaves and berries. The samples collected near the mining area showed significantly higher As concentrations.

DOI:

Publication date: October 1, 2020

Issue: Terroir 2012

Type: Article

Authors

Tomás ROMÁN VILLEGAS, Daniela BERTOLDI, Roberto LARCHER, Alessandro SANTATO, Maurizio BOTTURA, Giorgio NICOLINI

FEM-IASMA Fondazione Edmund Mach – Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige, via E. Mach, 1, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

arsenic, plant uptake, soil, wine, human health risk

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2012

Citation

Related articles…

Impact of varying ethanol and carbonation levels on the odor threshold of 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphtalene (petrol off-flavor) and role of berry size and Riesling clones

1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphtelene (TDN) evokes the odor of “petrol” in wine, especially in the variety Riesling. Increasing UV-radiation due to climate change intensifies formation of carotenoids in the berry skins and an increase of TDN-precursors1. Exploring new viticultural and oenological strategies to limit TDN formation in the future requires precise knowledge of TDN thresholds in different matrices. Thresholds reported in the literature vary substantially between 2 µg/L up to 20 µg/L2,3,4 due to the use of different methods. As Riesling grapes are used for very different wine styles such as dry, sweet or sparkling wines, it is essential to study the impact of varying ethanol and carbonation levels.

Functional characterisation of genetic elements regulating bunch morphology in grapevine

Vitis vinifera L., is considered one of the world’s most important cultivated fruit crops. In agriculture, bunch morphology is a grapevine-specific trait, which directly impacts fruit quality and health.
Bunch size, shape, and compactness are major aspects of bunch morphology, with the degree of compactness emerging as an important trait for grapevine genetic enhancement and vineyard management. The importance of this trait stems from its impact on disease susceptibility, berry ripening, and other grape quality properties. However, current knowledge of the genes controlling it remains limited.

Essai de maîtrise optimisée de la vigueur de deux clones de chenin sur schistes verts du carbonifère en zone A.O.C. Coteaux du Layon

Les buts principaux de cet essai, sont la mise en évidence des effets traitement agroviticole et millésime, par une recherche de liens entre les données vendanges et sensorielles des vins issus.

Biodiversity and genetic profiling of autochthonous grapevine varieties in Armenia: A key to sustainable viticulture

Armenia, as one of the ancient centers of grapevine domestication, harbors a unique repository of genetic diversity in its indigenous and wild grapevine populations, highlighting a key role in the millennia-lasting history of grape cultivation in the Southern Caucasus (Margaryan et al., 2021).

Mapping natural terroir units using a multivariate approach and legacy data

This work aimed at setting up a multivariate and geostatistical methodology to map natural terroir units of the viticultural areas at the province scale (1:125,000).