The wine is “naked”: flint glass bottles cause wine aroma identity degradation

Transparent packaging is often used for food products, including wine, milk, beer, and fruit juices. This choice is based on the marketing recommendation that consumers want to see the product before they buy it, although scientists point out that light can harm food quality and nutritional value. Although the practice of bottling white wine in transparent glass is known to cause a wine defect, the influence of light on the fruity and floral flavor profile of the wine is unknown. The aim of this work was to study the influence of light exposure on the white wine volatilome under the typical supermarket shelf conditions and to monitor the primary aroma compounds that characterize the sensorial identity and flavor of each cultivar using 1,052 bottles of 24 white wines [1]. The volatile profile was studied using a fingerprinting method able to maximize the number of volatiles detected, via comprehensive gas chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GCToF-MS) instrument. After only 7 days of shelf life in flint glass bottles, a dramatic loss of terpenes (10 to 30%) and norisoprenoids (30 to 70%) was recorded, while colored glass bottles did not show such behavior even after 50 days and the darkness has preserved the fruity and floral aromatic integrity of the wine. Flint glass bottles bring no benefit to the wines, while the multiples changes in the aroma composition can jeopardize the quality, depriving the wine of the identity of the variety and terroir. In other words, the wine is naked. In light of this understanding of the negative impact of flint glass on the aromatic identity and sensory character of white wine, this packaging should be strongly discouraged. The same results should apply to a wide range of different foods consumed daily in which clear packaging is used