The Varietal Effect on the Wine Volatile Composition: A Large Study Covering 23 Red Varieties Over Several Vintages

Abstract

Volatile composition shapes wine typicity and its perceived overall quality. Among others, the grapevine variety is playing a crucial role in the final wine composition, even if its effect is mitigated by many other impacting factors. This research aimed to investigate the varietal effect on 52 different volatile compounds, across 23 different red varieties. Wines from each of the 23 varieties were made over three to four vintages and analyzed with three different quantification methods. Statistical treatments, aiming at buffering the vintage and evolution effects, enabled to identify redundant patterns in the concentrations of specific compounds in the wines made from specific varieties. Hierarchical clustering analyses allowed determining similar aromatic composition in wines made with different varieties. One of the identified clusters highlighted similarities among traditional red Bordeaux varieties, which were characterized by higher concentrations of two esters from branched aliphatic acids and two aldehydes.

Keywords: GC, MS, varietal diversity, aromatic composition, aroma compounds