A Metabolomic Approach to the Study of Wine Micro-Oxygenation

Abstract

Wine micro-oxygenation is a globally used treatment and its effects were studied here by analysing by untargeted LC-MS the wine metabolomic fingerprint. Eight different procedural variations, marked by the addition of oxygen (four levels) and iron (two levels) were applied to Sangiovese wine, before and after malolactic fermentation.Data analysis using supervised and unsupervised multivariate methods highlighted some known candidate biomarkers, together with a number of metabolites which had never previously been considered as possible biomarkers for wine micro-oxygenation. Various pigments and tannins were identified among the known candidate biomarkers. Additional new information was obtained suggesting a correlation between oxygen doses and metal contents and changes in the concentration of primary metabolites such as arginine, proline, tryptophan and raffinose, and secondary metabolites such as succinic acid and xanthine. Based on these findings, new hypotheses regarding the formation and reactivity of wine pigment during micro-oxygenation have been proposed. This experiment highlights the feasibility of using unbiased, untargeted metabolomic fingerprinting to improve our understanding of wine chemistry.

Wine science in the metabolomics era

“…The UHPLC-TOF-MS platform was also used to carry out an untargeted metabolomics approach for the study of wine micro-oxygenation [82]. The micro-continuous addition of small amounts of oxygen to red wines is a common winemaking practice in order to improve their color, aroma, texture and conservation [83].…”

Chemical messages from an ancient buried bottle: metabolomics for wine archeochemistry

“…[6][7][8] Such quest for the description and the understanding of the composition of wine is undoubtedly fostered by its various features ranging from organoleptic to health-related properties. [9][10][11] However, it is also driven by a unique universally shared cultural heritage, which has always aroused the curiosity of both scientists and non-scientists for this specific food product, "transformed to be consumed within a culturally constructed set of rules and beliefs, often in situations strongly associated with reinforcing social identity".…”

Profiling of grape monoterpene glycosides (aroma precursors) by ultra‐high performance‐liquid chromatography‐high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC/QTOF)

“…Several ESI‐MS and LC/MS methods have been used to study the metabolomics of natural extracts by both ‘untargeted’ and ‘targeted’ approaches . In general, the former approach provides high sensitivity, good resolution and high‐throughput capacity; instead, ‘targeted’ methods focus more on quantitative study of specific compounds …”