PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Sonia Francioli AU - Jordi Torrens AU - Montserrat Riu-Aumatell AU - Elvira López-Tamames AU - Susana Buxaderas TI - Volatile Compounds by SPME-GC as Age Markers of Sparkling Wines AID - 10.5344/ajev.2003.54.3.158 DP - 2003 Jan 01 TA - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture PG - 158--162 VI - 54 IP - 3 4099 - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/54/3/158.short 4100 - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/54/3/158.full SO - Am J Enol Vitic.2003 Jan 01; 54 AB - Cava acquires its characteristic aroma during aging. Twenty-eight volatile compounds of 221 sparkling wines made from different base wine were quantified by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and discriminant analysis was applied. Isoamyl and hexyl acetates, ethyl decanoate, 2-phenylethyl acetate, and vitispiranes were found to be markers of young sparkling wines (<9 months). Vitispiranes and 1,2-dihydro-1,1,6-trimethylnaphthalene (TDN) were also able to discriminate aged cava (>20 months), while diethyl succinate could be an age marker throughout the aging period.Acknowledgments: The authors are grateful to Segura Viudas SA, Castellblanch SA, and Freixenet SA wineries for providing samples. This study was made possible by financial assistance from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (MCYT) project VIN01-051, from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain) for project 2001SGR-00131, and through funding from the Universitat de Barcelona to M. Riu-Aumatell (Ph. D. student).