Quantification of 38 volatile ester compounds by means of SIDA-HS-SPME-GC-MS in 'Pinot blanc' wines and comparison with other important Austrian varieties.

Ester compounds are very important for the fruitiness of wine. Within the framework of this investigation a gas chromatographic (GC) method using mass spectrometry (MS) in single ion mode (SIM) with an upstream headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was developed. The use of deuterated internal standards in the stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) has provided accurate detection of 38 ester compounds in 198 white and red wines (vintage 2016 and 2017), including 114 'Pinot blanc' wines. In the course of this study some vintage and varietal differences were found. Thus, a good distinction between white and red wines based on the ester compounds is easily possible, a distinction of the different white wine varieties, however, was difficult, but partially successful. For 'Pinot blanc', compared to other varieties, a very low ratio of methyl ester to ethyl ester was found. Furthermore, the 'Pinot blanc' wines are characterized by slightly higher concentrations of ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate and isobutyl acetate.