Influence of locality on content of phenolic compounds in white wines

Abstract

Phenolic compounds in grapes and wines are significantly influenced by the environment. Phenolic compounds in grapes are therefore a good reflection of terroir. The authentic wines were made from seven white grape varieties and two localities in the Czech Republic. Sádek is a location on the edge of production wine-growing in the Czech Republic and Perná is a typical wine-growing location in the Czech Republic. The profile of phenolic compounds was analysed by HPLC. Based on the statistical evaluation of these results, the following phenolic compounds were found to very well reflect the terroir conditions: protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, caftaric acid, cis-piceid, (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin. Since these compounds were not influenced significantly by vintage, they can be good markers of terroir.

Keywords

• authenticity
• grapevine
• hplc
• terroir
• wine analysis