Conservation of (87)Sr/(86)Sr isotopic ratios during the winemaking processes of 'Red' wines to validate their use as geographic tracer.

(87)Sr/(86)Sr has been determined in wines, musts grape juices, soils and rocks from six selected vineyards of 'Cesanese' wine area. Cesanese is a monocultivar wine from a small region characterised by different geologic substrata, a key locality to test the influence of both substratum and winemaking procedure on the (87)Sr/(86)Sr of wines. Experimental work has been performed on wines from different vintage years to check possible seasonal variations. The data reveal that (87)Sr/(86)Sr does not change through time, to validate the selection of wineries performed, and in addition no isotopic variations are observed during winemaking. Indeed, no significant isotopic variations have been observed in musts and wines. These findings reinforce the hypothesis that the isotopic signature of wines is strongly related to the bioavailable fraction of the soil rather than to its bulk. The data corroborate the possibility that Sr-isotopes of high-quality wines can be used as a reliable tool for fingerprinting wine geographic provenance.