Determination of Nickel in French Wines and Grapes

¹ Université Montpellier I, Faculté de Pharmacie, Centre de Formation et de Recherche en Oenologie, Av. Charles Flahault, 34060 Montpellier Cedex 2, France.

teissed{at}balard.pharma.univ-montp1.fr

The study determines nickel concentration in French wines and grapes and traces possible sources of contamination in wine using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The standard additions method was used to verify the accuracy of the method. The precision and accuracy were tested to confirm the reliability of this method. Ni concentrations ranged from 5.4 to 87.9 µg/L in red wine, from 7.5 to 74.5 µg/L in white wine, from 19.5 to 24.6 µg/L in rosé wine, and from 8.9 to 26.9 µg/L in Champagne. Ni concentration in grapes ranged from 4.2 to 94.0 µg/kg. For a given vineyard and winery, Ni concentration in wine increased with the period of storage suggesting Ni contamination from stainless steel storage tanks and Ni-containing pigments of bottles during the storage of wines. Total Ni daily dietary intake for french population from wine consumption was calculated to be 4.37 µg/day/resident. The daily contribution of Ni from wine in dietary intake may be as high as 7%.

Key words: nickel, wine, graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), dietary intake

Submitted on November 14, 1996