RESUMEN
Up to date, there have been only a few reports on the measurement of YAN and/or its components using IR spectroscopy, suffering from various limitations (number of samples, validation strategies, etc.). In this work, three IR spectral instruments measuring in different modes and ranges of the IR spectrum (FT-IR, FT-NIR, and ATR-MIR), were compared and evaluated for their accuracy to measure both total YAN as well as the components, FAN and ammonia separately, using over 900 grape juice samples from 28 cultivars over three seasons. The global and vintage-based models were evaluated using R2CAL/VAL, RMSEC/P, and RPDCAL/VAL. Randomization tests were used for pair-wise comparison of models. FT-IR and FT-NIR instruments gave the best results, while ATR-MIR can be used for screening purposes. Considering the accuracy, robustness, high throughput, and cost-effective nature, the models produced by both FT-IR and FT-NIR spectroscopy can provide winemakers with the opportunity to make timelier and more informed nutrient supplementation decisions, facilitating the achievement of their desired wine style and quality.
RESUMEN
The study was undertaken to gain insight into the nitrogen status of grape juices currently used to make commercial wines in South Africa. This was done as yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) is most often suspected as the cause for problematic fermentations and has major implications for the organoleptic qualities of the final product. Using exploratory statistical methods, this study explored the possibility of identifying the role of cultivar and grape-growing district in the determination of the concentration and composition of YAN. However, as the dataset was found to be non-parametric and heteroscedastic, paired with unequal sample sizes, data analysis was approached with caution. Through the use of various suitable statistical analyses, cultivar was shown to play the more important role in determining the concentration and composition of YAN.