Application of a headspace mass spectrometry system to the differentiation and classification of wines according to their origin, variety and ageing.

The system based on coupling a headspace sampler to a mass spectrometer (HS-MS), considered a kind of electronic nose (e-nose), is an emerging technique in the field of food aroma analysis. The global mass spectrum this system provides is a fingerprint of each sample analysed that contains the information related to volatile composition of the sample. The use of chemometric techniques allows to compare the spectra of the samples and then, to classify them according to different properties. In this paper, we present the development of a method for wine analysis using a HS-MS system and multivariate analysis techniques. The method was successfully applied to differentiate and classify wines according to its origin, variety and ageing. The main advantages of the proposed methodology are the minimum sample preparation required and the speed of analysis (10 min/sample).