Feasibility study on the use of a head space mass spectrometry electronic nose (MS e_nose) to monitor red wine spoilage induced by Brettanomyces yeast

The aim of this work was to investigate the potential of a head space mass spectrometry electronic nose (MS e_nose) instrument combined with chemometrics as a rapid and low cost technique to monitor spoilage induced by Brettanomyces yeast in two commercial red wine varieties in Australia (i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz). Red wine samples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz grape varieties sourced from barrels and bottled wines were analyzed using a MS e_nose instrument. The MS e_nose data generated were analyzed based on principal component analysis (PCA) and stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) using full cross validation (leave one out method). The SLDA classified correctly 67% of the samples in three categories based on the concentration of 4-ethylphenol (4EP) namely high (higher than 500 μg L−1), medium (between 500 and 200 μg L−1) and low (lower than 100 μg L−1) in respect of Brettanomyces yeast spoilage in the set of red wines analyzed. The work reported here is a feasibility study and further work is needed in order to improve the calibration specificity, accuracy and robustness.