Evaluating the greenness of wine analytical chemistry: A new metric approach

Abstract

Wine is a complex matrix influenced by climatic, agricultural, and winemaking factors, making quality control and authenticity assessment essential. Alongside analytical performance, sustainability has become a priority. Although tools such as the Analytical Eco-Scale, GAPI, and AGREE assess the greenness of analytical methods, they present limitations when applied to wine analysis. To address these gaps, this study introduces the Green Wine Analytical Procedure Evaluation (GWAPE), a dedicated framework for assessing the environmental impact of wine analytical methods. GWAPE integrates and refines existing green metrics, excludes non-relevant criteria, and introduces new principles tailored to enological analysis. The metric is structured around 10 principles and is supported by a Python-based software tool. GWAPE was applied to three common wine analytical procedures: enzymatic determination of glucose and fructose, determination of reducing substances, and FTIR-based determination of glucose and fructose. The results highlighted clear differences in environmental performance, with FTIR being the most eco-friendly method (3.5/5), followed by enzymatic analysis (2.5/5), while the determination of reducing substances showed the highest environmental impact (1.8/5). GWAPE provides a practical and quantitative tool for comparing analytical procedures, supporting greener decision-making in wine analysis and promoting sustainable practices within the sector.

References

Thanasi, V.; Lopes, A. B.; Barros, P.; Ribeiro, N.; Ricardo-da-Silva, J. M.; Catarino, S. (2024). Evaluating the Greenness of Wine Analytical Chemistry: A New Metric Approach. Foods, 13, 3557.