1H-NMR Metabolomics as a Tool for Winemaking Monitoring

The chemical composition of wine is known to be influenced by multiple factors including some viticulture practices and winemaking processes. H-1-NMR metabolomics has been successfully applied to the study of wine authenticity. In the present study, H-1-NMR metabolomics in combination with multivariate analysis was applied to investigate the effects of grape maturity and enzyme and fining treatments on Cabernet Sauvignon wines. A total of forty wine metabolites were quantified. Three different stages of maturity were studied (under-maturity, maturity and over-maturity). Enzyme treatments were carried out using two pectolytic enzymes (E1 and E2). Finally, two proteinaceous fining treatments were compared (vegetable protein, fining F1; pea protein and PVPP, fining F2). The results show a clear difference between the three stages of maturity, with an impact on different classes of metabolites including amino acids, organic acids, sugars, phenolic compounds, alcohols and esters. A clear separation between enzymes E1 and E2 was observed. Both fining agents had a significant effect on metabolite concentrations. The results demonstrate that H-1-NMR metabolomics provides a fast and robust approach to study the effect of winemaking processes on wine metabolites. These results support the interest to pursue the development of H-1-NMR metabolomics to investigate the effects of winemaking on wine quality.

Automated summary

In this study, H-1-NMR metabolomics combined with multivariate analysis was used to investigate the effects of grape maturity, enzyme, and fining treatments on Cabernet Sauvignon wines. The results demonstrated significant impacts of maturity stage, enzymes, and fining agents on a variety of wine metabolites.