Detecting glycerol sources in wine
Glycerol is a colourless, odourless, sweet tasting, syrupy liquid which occurs naturally but can also be manufactured synthetically. Synthetic sources of glycerol are often added to poor quality wines in order to enhance their flavour. The main goal of this project was therefore to determine whether the source of the glycerol is natural or synthetic in order to evaluate its authenticity. Since the compounds of natural and synthetic glycerol can be chemically identical, an analytical methodology was used to detect added synthetic glycerol to wine, which occurs in the manufacturing process. The key to determining the addition of added synthetic glycerol is in the substances formed during the process. This is because some of the compounds do not occur naturally in grapes or wine. A main advantage of this method is that it can be applied to various types of wines, including white, red, sweet or dry. In addition, the results have shown that concentrations of synthetic glycerol can be detected accurately and precisely in different laboratories. Guidelines for using this method and for its interpretation have already been established, which is good news for Europe's wine industry.
