Development, validation and application of a fast GC-FID method for the analysis of volatile compounds in spirit drinks and wine

In this work, a fast GC-FID method for the analysis of principal volatile compounds in spirit drinks and wines was presented. With a chromatographic run of 8 min were identified and quantified sixteen volatile compounds belonging to different chemical classes: acetals (1,1-diethoxyethane or acetal), aldehydes (acetaldehyde), alcohols (methanol, 1-hexanol, 2-methylbutan-1-ol, 2-methylpropan-1-ol, 2-phenylethanol, 3-methylbutan-1-ol, butan-1-ol, butan-2-ol and propan-1-ol) and ethyl esters (ethyl acetate, ethyl formate and ethyl lactate). These compounds are responsible for the quality of alcoholic beverages, affecting the aromatic composition and the wholesomeness of the final products. For this reason, their quantification is essential to optimize the fermentation conditions, storage techniques and distillation process. Validation of the method was performed in terms of matrix effect, limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, recovery, repeatability and reproducibility. Once validated, the developed method was tested successfully on real enological samples, demonstrating its applicability in the daily practice of analytical laboratories.