Seminar Abstract

Multidimensional gas chromatographic techniques in wine aroma analysis: The future of "wine-omics"? by Dr. Hans-Georg Schmarr

The lecture will begin with a short introduction of the institution of the DLR, with particular respect to the wine aroma research, and the new B.Sc. study in Viticulture & Enology.

Since wine aroma is an impressively complex matrix, comprising compounds from all chemical classes and concentration ranges from sub-ng/L to the g/L level, analytical chemists are challenged quite a bit.

In the past, many questions in wine aroma research had been raised in the light of understanding off-flavors or the underlying differences between aromas of grape varieties, wine origin and the development of particular aroma compounds, respectively compound classes, during ripening. Today´s interest moves more to global or comprehensive questions. Here, a classical single or even multi-component targeted analysis is no longer feasible. With the availability of the impressive separation power of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC), profiling analysis of wine volatile compounds now allows tackling new challenges. Correlation of wine quality with chemical compositional data can now be investigated with a focus on broader questions. In our approach, profiles of volatiles obtained by GC × GC analysis are treated as fingerprints and are studied by means of multivariate statistics. Other analytical techniques, particularly spectroscopic methods such as NMR, can and should accompany such endeavours, recognising developments made in these methods. Examples on wine analysis are presented for discriminating oenological variants or grape origin.

Besides, critical examples for sophisticated multidimensional targeted component analyses will be given with methoxypyrazine analysis in wine.