Amino acid composition of some grape juices (Vitis vinifera L.) from Croatia

Abstract

Free amino acids in grape juice are important as nitrogen source for yeast strains during alcoholic fermentation. The aim of this research was to determine amino acid profiles in musts from nine grapevine cultivars (six white and three red). The cultivars were located in a homogeneous soil and climatic zone of Bilogora growing hill (West continental region, Prigorje–bilogora subregion), grown on the same training system. The experiment was conducted in vintage 2015. The results showed significant influence of grape cultivar on the amino acids composition in musts of white and red grape cultivars. Arginine was dominant in most analyzed varieties of amino acids. The highest concentration of arginine in white cultivars was measured in Chardonnay must (470.18 mg/L) and in red cultivar must from Saint Laurent (280.65 mg/L). Statistically significant difference was also found in the total amino acid composition of white and red cultivars. The highest concentration of total amino acids in white cultivars was determined in Manzoni juice (1639.51 mg/L) and among the red cultivars in Pinot noir juice (1173.12 mg/L).

Keywords

• free amino acid
• arginine
• total amino acid
• grape juice