Impact of Plasmopara viticola infection of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes on wine composition and flavor.

This work reports the identification of volatile compounds involved in the particular and atypical flavor detected in Vitis vinifera red Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines made with grapes infected and wilted by brown rot (Plasmopara viticola). Must made from withered grapes had green aromas while red wines were marked by intense odor reminiscent of green, herbaceous notes but also figs and cooked fruit. Thanks to GC-O and GC-MS analysis, cooked fruit notes were identified as 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione, γ-nonalactone and γ-decalactone, whereas herbaceous and green aromas were identified as (Z)-1,5-octadien-3-one and 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine. We show that the organoleptic impact of P. viticola is more pronounced in Merlot wines compared to Cabernet Sauvignon ones. The highest levels of 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione (75.3ng/L) were found in old Merlot wines made with 20% infected berries, suggesting the incidence of berry quality on the ability of a wine to age.

Comparison of electron and chemical ionization modes for the quantification of thiols and oxidative compounds in white wines by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A rapid, sensitive method for assaying volatile impact compounds in white wine was developed using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) technology, with a triple quadrupole analyzer operating in chemical ionization and electron impact mode. This GC-MS/MS method made it possible to assay volatile thiols (3SH: 3-sulfanylhexanol, formerly 3MH; 3SHA: 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate, formerly 3MHA; 4MSP: 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one, formerly 4MMP; BM: benzenemethanethiol; E2SA: ethyl 2-sulfanylacetate; and 2FM: 2-furanmethanethiol) and odoriferous oxidation markers (Sotolon: 4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2(5)H-furanone, methional, and phenylacetaldehyde) simultaneously in dry white wines, comparing electron impact (EI) and chemical ionization (CI) modes. More molecular ions were produced by CI than protonated molecules, despite the greater fragmentation caused by EI. So, even using the best reactant gas giving the highest signal for thiols, EI was the best ionization mode, with the lowest detection limits. For all compounds of interest, the limits of quantification (LOQ) obtained were well below their detection thresholds (ranging from 0.5 to 8.5ng/L for volatile thiols and 65-260ng/L for oxidation markers). Recovery rates ranged from 86% to 111%, reproducibility (in terms of relative standard deviation; RSD) was below 18% in all cases, with correlation coefficients above 0.991 for all analytes. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of compounds of interest in Sauvignon Blanc wines from a single estate and ten different vintages.