Recognition of Vinification Technology Through Gas Chromatographic Data on Enantiomeric Purity of Free Amino Acids

Analysis of D-amino acids in food, a matter of growing interest due to nutritional implications, has been used as a tool for food evaluation, detection of falsifications and as a genuinity parameter, The evolution of free D-amino acids in wines of a portuguese Vitis vinifera variety (Roupeiro white), bottled during the period 1978-1989 is studied by means of chiral high resolution gas chromatography. D-Ala, D-Val, D-Thr, D-Leu, D-Ser, D-Asx, D-Met, D-Phe, and D-Glx are present in most of the analyzed wines. It was not possible to correlate the evolution of the D/L ratio to the age of the wine. However, a clear correlation between enantiomer purity profiles and the vinification technique could be established. The results show that free D-amino acids may be used as markers for the biotechnological process used in vinification.