Metabolic Fingerprinting of Muscat of Alexandria Grape Musts during Industrial Alcoholic Fermentation Using HS-SPME and Liquid Injection with TMS Derivatization GC-MS Methods

Muscat of Alexandria is one of the most aromatic grape cultivars, with a characteristic floral and fruity aroma, producing popular appellation of origin wines. The winemaking process is a critical factor contributing to the quality of the final product, so the aim of this work was to study metabolomic changes during the fermentation of grape musts at the industrial level from 11 tanks, 2 vintages, and 3 wineries of Limnos Island. A Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME) and a liquid injection with Trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatization Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) methods were applied for the profiling of the main volatile and non-volatile polar metabolites originating from grapes or produced during winemaking, resulting in the identification of 109 and 69 metabolites, respectively. Multivariate statistical analysis models revealed the differentiation between the four examined time points during fermentation, and the most statistically significant metabolites were investigated by biomarker assessment, while their trends were presented with boxplots. Whilst the majority of compounds (ethyl esters, alcohols, acids, aldehydes, sugar alcohols) showed an upward trend, fermentable sugars, amino acids, and C6-compounds were decreased. Terpenes presented stable behavior, with the exception of terpenols, which were increased at the beginning and were then decreased after the 5th day of fermentation.

Automated summary

The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolomic changes during the fermentation of Muscat of Alexandria grape cultivars at the industrial level. Different analytical methods were used to analyze the compounds in wines from different producers, vintages, and fermentation time points. The majority of compounds showed an upward trend during fermentation, while fermentable sugars, amino acids, and C6 compounds decreased. Terpenes exhibited stable behavior, except for terpenols which increased initially and then decreased after the 5th day of fermentation.