Thanks to their low odor detection thresholds, free varietal thiols (VTs) play a key role in the primary aroma of wines, to which they confer an intense scent reminiscent of box tree, grapefruit, citrus fruits, passionfruit and cat urine odor. Excluding wines from a few VT-rich grapevine cultivars, VTs appear to be present in most cultivars at trace levels, although a comprehensive dataset is still missing. The low concentration of VTs combined with their high reactivity and matrix complexity make their determination in wines a challenging task. In this research an optimized liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was validated and used for the quantification of 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4-MSP), 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3-SH), 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate (3-SHA) and ethyl 3-sulfanylpropionate (E3SP) in 246 samples (vintage 2019) representative of 18 monovarietal Italian white wines. VTs were detected in all cultivars even though higher values of 3-SH were found in Lugana, Müller-Thurgau and Verdicchio cultivars. Müller-Thurgau wines showed the highest level of 4-MSP, that was mainly correlated to the odor descriptors of passionfruit and box tree/cat urine. The VTs composition of Müller-Thurgau was confirmed on a second set of 50 wines from different vintages. From a sensory perspective, the samples of Müller-Thurgau showed the best positive correlations between chemical variables and the odor descriptors thiol note, passion fruit and box tree/cat urine. These notes are significantly related to 4-MSP, suggesting that it could play a relevant olfactory role for the aroma of Müller-Thurgau wines. Sorting analysis allowed to group these wines according to their thiolic characteristics. The chemical variables and the odor descriptors attributable to the thiol notes are important for Müller-Thurgau and Lugana wines, while the contribution of thiol notes was sensorially negligible for the other wines.

Carlin, S.; Piergiovanni, M.; Pittari, E.; Tiziana Lisanti, M.; Moio, L.; Piombino, P.; Marangon, M.; Curioni, A.; Rolle, L.; Rìo Segade, S.; Versari, A.; Ricci, A.; Parpinello, G.P.; Luzzini, G.; Ugliano, M.; Perenzoni, D.; Vrhovsek, U.; Mattivi, F. (2022). The contribution of varietal thiols in the diverse aroma of Italian monovarietal white wines. FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, 157: 111404. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111404 handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/75898

The contribution of varietal thiols in the diverse aroma of Italian monovarietal white wines

Carlin, Silvia
Primo
;
Perenzoni, Daniele;Vrhovsek, Urska;Mattivi, Fulvio
Ultimo
2022-01-01

Abstract

Thanks to their low odor detection thresholds, free varietal thiols (VTs) play a key role in the primary aroma of wines, to which they confer an intense scent reminiscent of box tree, grapefruit, citrus fruits, passionfruit and cat urine odor. Excluding wines from a few VT-rich grapevine cultivars, VTs appear to be present in most cultivars at trace levels, although a comprehensive dataset is still missing. The low concentration of VTs combined with their high reactivity and matrix complexity make their determination in wines a challenging task. In this research an optimized liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was validated and used for the quantification of 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4-MSP), 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3-SH), 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate (3-SHA) and ethyl 3-sulfanylpropionate (E3SP) in 246 samples (vintage 2019) representative of 18 monovarietal Italian white wines. VTs were detected in all cultivars even though higher values of 3-SH were found in Lugana, Müller-Thurgau and Verdicchio cultivars. Müller-Thurgau wines showed the highest level of 4-MSP, that was mainly correlated to the odor descriptors of passionfruit and box tree/cat urine. The VTs composition of Müller-Thurgau was confirmed on a second set of 50 wines from different vintages. From a sensory perspective, the samples of Müller-Thurgau showed the best positive correlations between chemical variables and the odor descriptors thiol note, passion fruit and box tree/cat urine. These notes are significantly related to 4-MSP, suggesting that it could play a relevant olfactory role for the aroma of Müller-Thurgau wines. Sorting analysis allowed to group these wines according to their thiolic characteristics. The chemical variables and the odor descriptors attributable to the thiol notes are important for Müller-Thurgau and Lugana wines, while the contribution of thiol notes was sensorially negligible for the other wines.
Volatile thiols
White wine
LC-MS/MS
Sensory analysis
Müller-Thurgau
Verdicchio
Lugana
Ebselen
4-Methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one
3-Sulfanylhexan-1-ol
3-Sulfanylhexyl acetate
Ethyl 3-sulfanylpropionate
Settore CHIM/10 - CHIMICA DEGLI ALIMENTI
2022
Carlin, S.; Piergiovanni, M.; Pittari, E.; Tiziana Lisanti, M.; Moio, L.; Piombino, P.; Marangon, M.; Curioni, A.; Rolle, L.; Rìo Segade, S.; Versari, A.; Ricci, A.; Parpinello, G.P.; Luzzini, G.; Ugliano, M.; Perenzoni, D.; Vrhovsek, U.; Mattivi, F. (2022). The contribution of varietal thiols in the diverse aroma of Italian monovarietal white wines. FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, 157: 111404. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111404 handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/75898
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
2022 FRI Carlin.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (Publisher’s layout)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 1.94 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.94 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10449/75898
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 1
  • Scopus 9
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 8
social impact