THE VARIATION OF MINERAL PROFILES FROM GRAPE JUICE TO MONOVARIETAL CABERNET SAUVIGNON WINE IN THE VINIFICATION PROCESS

The variation of mineral profiles in the vinification process was investigated in this paper. The concentrations of 10 mineral elements (Al, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, Ca, K, Mg, Na and Sr) in grape juice, must and wine were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from two districts, Yinchuan and Changli, were used in two vinification batches, respectively. The results indicated that there were significant differences (P < 0.01) of the contents of each element among individual vinification steps for two batches. The content of Fe in the batch used grapes from Yinchuan was 6.66 mg/L, which was close to the maximum level of 8 mg/L in Chinese GB 15037-2006. Some measures should be taken in practice to control contamination. In addition, strong correlations (P < 0.01) of the mineral profiles between the wines and origin grapes were observed in both batches. The profile of the 10 mineral elements in a wine can be tentatively used as a fingerprint to distinguish one wine origin from another. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This study will lay the foundations for hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP). The results will guide the winery to control and enhance the quality of the wine. In addition, a mineral profile of a wine was potentially taken as the fingerprint of the wine origin.