Volatile composition of Baga red wine: Assessment of the identification of the would-be impact odourants Original Research Article

Wines produced from Baga native variety from the Portuguese Bairrada Appellation, harvest 2000, were submitted to a liquid–liquid continuous extraction with dichloromethane and analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). A total of 53 compounds were identified and quantified. This wine has 225 mg l−1 volatile compounds, which include aliphatic and aromatic alcohols (44%), acids (27%), esters (15%), lactones (6%), amides (5%), and phenols (1%). To achieve the identification of the major would-be impact odourants, the aroma index was calculated using the concentration of each volatile component and the corresponding odour threshold reported in the literature. This methodology proved suitable, as a preliminary step, for the determination of the would-be impact odourants of Baga wine. From the 53 compounds identified, nine were determined as the most powerful odourants: guaiacol, 3-methylbutanoic acid, 4-ethoxycarbonyl-γ-butyrolactone, isobutyric acid, 2-phenylethanol, γ-nonalactone, octanoic acid, ethyl octanoate and 4-(1-hydroxyethyl)-γ-butyrolactone. These data suggest Baga wine as a fruity-type product with an aroma correlated to a restricted number of compounds.