Study of aroma profile in Malvasia di Candia Aromatica

Malvasia di Candia aromatica is a grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivar (cv.) that produces aromatic white grape, cultivated in the Emilia Romagna provinces of Reggio Emilia, Parma, and Piacenza, while in Lombardy it is cultivated in the area of Oltrepò Pavese. This cv. is an aromatic cultivar used to produce semi-sparkling, semi-dry or sweet wines and, more recently, still, dry or passito wines. For this reason, Malvasia di Candia aromatica was studied under different aspects. In particular, some studies were carried out on the aromatic compounds that influence the sensory quality of products obtained from this grape. In different studies, aromatic profile of this cv. was widely studied in relation to cultivation techniques, terroir, as well as to winemaking techniques. This study aimed at evaluating different accessions of Malvasia di Candia aromatica in relationship to different altitudes where the grapevines are grown. The method included the extraction of the volatile aromatic fractions, both free and glycosylated, by solid phase extraction (SPE) onto C18-endcapped cartridges and by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE). Separation and quantification of volatiles were carried out by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Seven different Malvasia di Candia aromatica accessions, and one Malvasia aromatica di Parma coming from different local vineyards were collected inside the area around Reggio Emilia at three different altitudes. The samples show a high concentration of free aroma compounds as well as glycosylated ones that represent a reserve of grape flavor, therefore the latter are generally more abundant than the former. Terpenoids, C13-norisoprenoids, and benzenoids, are the main classes of aroma compounds identified in Malvasia grapes. Terpenoid profile is particularly rich and varied, being the geraniol the compound with the highest concentration. The difference found among samples collected at different altitudes show how this factor can influence the aroma profile.