title: Variations in the profile and content of anthocyanins in wines made from cabernet sauvignon and hybrid grapes.
abstract: To detect adulteration of wine, it has been proposed that the ratio of acetylated to p-coumaroylated conjugates of nine characteristic anthocyanins can be used to determine whether a wine is derived from Cabernet Sauvignon or hybrid grapes. If the ratio is >3, then a wine is classified as being derived from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. This test has significant commercial implications as it is being used to decide whether Cabernet Sauvignon-labeled wines are genuine and can be imported into Germany. To assess whether this is a valid approach, 24 wines were analyzed, 4 of which were made from hybrids and 20 from Cabernet Sauvignon, with vintages ranging from 1993 to 2000. Only 13 of the Cabernet Sauvignon wines contained all nine of the "characteristic" anthocyanins, and the ratio of acetylated to p-coumaroylated derivatives varied from 1.2 to 6.5. It is evident that the use of the anthocyanin ratio method is flawed and that examination of the whole anthocyanin profile and/or investigation of the proportion of monoglucoside and acetylated anthocyanins is a better approach to distinguish between hybrid and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
authors.affiliation: Plant Products and Human Nutrition Group, Graham Kerr Building, Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, IBLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mullen
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Landrault
authors.forename: Pierre-Louis
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Teissedre
authors.forename: Michael E J
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lean
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crozier
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000032:analysis*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis; D013045:Species Specificity; D027843:Vitis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D014920:Wine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D010636:Phenols