Current situation of biogenic amines in Rioja Alavesa red wines: A technical study

Abstract

Background: In Rioja Alavesa, a worldwide recognised wine region, it has been identified a lack of data about the situation of biogenic amines in its wines. Due to the relevance of the topic and the interest of regional wine stakeholders002C it was determined the situation of biogenic amines levels on 70 commercial red wines from Rioja Alavesa region.Results: The most abundant was putrescine (15.12 AE 8.31 mg/L) followed by histamine (4.60 AE 2.60 mg/L), tyramine (3.19 AE 2.51 mg/L) and cadaverine (2.19 AE 2.25 mg/L), respectively. The absence of significant differences between different types of wines (young, "crianza" and "reserva" wines) indicated that biogenic amines production occurred mainly during fermentation processes and not ageing period. Conclusion:Although the situation was not considered alarming, it is still necessary to keep working in order to reduce biogenic amines levels to minimum. Any strategy aimed at reducing biogenic amines levels will increase the competitiveness of Rioja Alavesa red wines in global market by giving them added value.