Active odorants in Mouraton grapes from shoulders and tips into the bunch

The opportunity for obtaining different wines from the same variety cultivated in the same vineyard is becoming of increasing importance. This is why some wine cellars have started to assay the separation of the tips and shoulders berries of the clusters of a specific variety with this objective. In this work, the study is focused on berries of Mouraton (Vitis vinifera L.) to investigate if, in the latter stages of ripening, differences exist in the probable alcoholic degree, total acidity of the must, as well as in the aromatic composition of skin and flesh of berries coming from the tips and shoulders of the clusters. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to determine the aromatic composition. The obtained results showed that there was not variability for the probable alcoholic degree and total acidity between the tips and shoulders, whereas there was variability for their aromatic composition during ripening. These results are promising for those wine cellars that are considering the separation of berries from tips and shoulders of the clusters for the elaboration of different quality wines. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.