Assessment of UV-visible spectroscopy as a useful tool for determining grape-must caramel in high-quality wine and balsamic vinegars

R. RÍOS REINA; S.M. AZACARATE; J.M. CAMIÑA; R. CALLEJÓN

FOOD CHEMISTRY

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Año: 2020 vol. 323 p. 1 - 9

0308-8146

The addition of E-150d caramel, known as grape-must caramel in vinegars, is a legal but without limitation practice in Spanish wine vinegars, as those with a protected designation of origin (PDO), for unifying the final colour of different batches and barrels. It is also used in the production of ?Balsamic vinegar of Modena? vinegars, with a maximum addition fixed at 2% v/vby law. Although its quantification in vinegars was studied by other techniques, there is still not any official method for it. Therefore, UV-vis spectroscopy was assessed as a quick analytical method able to quantify grape-must caramel in Balsamic vinegars of Modena and Spanish PDO wine vinegars. Univariate and multivariate calibrations were assessed for this quantification. Results demonstrated the ability of UV-vis spectroscopy coupled with multivariate calibration in the quantification of grape-must caramel, predicting caramel amounts under 2% v/v in both Balsamic and PDO wine vinegars.