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Quantitative analysis of 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines in German Sauvignon blanc wines by MDGC–MS or MDGC–MS/MS for viticultural and enological studies

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Abstract

A method for trace-level analysis of 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines (MPs) based on mixed-bed cation-exchange solid phase extraction followed by heart-cut multidimensional gas chromatographic analysis was applied in a trial on viticultural and enological treatments of Sauvignon blanc wines produced in Germany. The quantification was based on a stable isotope dilution assay using deuterated MPs. For method comparison, detection was either with selected ion monitoring with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) or after selected reaction monitoring using a triple quadrupole MS. Comparable performance for MP detection in the lower ng L−1 concentration range was found for both detection methods; however, in some cases, matrix problems could only be solved with MS/MS detection. It could be shown that MP levels varied considerably between the investigated vintages, with concentrations often well below 10 ng L−1. Leaf removal as a viticultural trial was a measure to decrease MP concentrations; however, the effects observed were low in the vintages studied here. Cold maceration and stem addition to the must were found as valuable enological means for increasing the MP concentration and improving the green sensory notes typical for cold climate Sauvignon blanc wines.

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Acknowledgments

E. Gracia-Moreno gratefully acknowledges a grant of the FPU program from the Spanish Government. C. Legrum is grateful to the “Graduiertenförderung des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz” for a PhD scholarship. Furthermore, we are thankful for financial support from the Ministerium für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft, Ernährung, Weinbau und Forsten (MULEWF; Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany). The authors are also thankful for the advice and fruitful discussions on stem addition to Oliver Schmidt, Staatliche Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Wein- und Obstbau, Weinsberg, Germany.

Conflict of interest

None.

Compliance with Ethics Requirements

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Author notes

  1. Theodoros Potouridis

    Present address: Abteilung Umweltanalytik, Institut für Atmosphäre und Umwelt, Goethe Universität, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum (DLR) Rheinpfalz, Kompetenzzentrum Weinforschung, Breitenweg 71, 67435, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany

    Charlotte Legrum, Theodoros Potouridis, Johannes Langen, Petra Slabizki & Hans-Georg Schmarr

  2. Fachbereich Chemie, Fachrichtung Lebensmittelchemie und Toxikologie, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 52, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Charlotte Legrum

  3. Laboratory for Flavor Analysis and Enology, Universidad de Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain

    Elisa Gracia-Moreno & Ricardo Lopez

  4. Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum (DLR), Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück, Wormser Str. 111, 55276, Oppenheim, Germany

    Jörg Weiand

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  1. Charlotte Legrum
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  2. Elisa Gracia-Moreno
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  3. Ricardo Lopez
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  4. Theodoros Potouridis
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  8. Hans-Georg Schmarr
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hans-Georg Schmarr.

Additional information

Charlotte Legrum, Elisa Gracia-Moreno, Petra Slabizki and Jörg Weiand have contributed equally to this work.

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Legrum, C., Gracia-Moreno, E., Lopez, R. et al. Quantitative analysis of 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines in German Sauvignon blanc wines by MDGC–MS or MDGC–MS/MS for viticultural and enological studies. Eur Food Res Technol 239, 549–558 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-014-2250-8

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