CHEMICAL ANALYSES REVEAL WHAT’S REALLY IN A BOTTLE OF WINE. PROFESSOR ATTILIO SCIENZA (UNIVERSITY OF MILAN) EXPLAINS TO WINENEWS THE VARIOUS METHODS THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT REASONABLE COSTS

Establishing whether a wine is made of a pure single grape varietal or whether it has been “contaminated” by other varietals, or whether grapes from other territories have been used, can now be determined definitively and at a reasonable price with two types of chemical analyses.
“The developments in eno-chemical research” – confirmed Attilio Scienza, the internationally acclaimed wine expert and professor at the University of Milan – “has given us the tools for two very sophisticated analyses”.

“One analysis” – explained Scienza – “is that of the anthocyanin profile, which is like taking a fingerprint of a grapevine. There are some varietals, like Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, that have very few substances, and if a bottled that has been analyzed shows high concentrations of substances, we may not be able to say what other varietals might be present, but we can surely say that it is not ‘pure’”.

“The other possibility is an analysis of the source: in water there are different concentrations of specific isotopes that vary according to its origin, and if, for example, I mix a wine from the Trentino region with one from Sicily, I can tell that there has been a contamination or an adulteration”.

“There are tests” – concluded Scienza – “that can now be done rapidly and at very low costs. An anthocyanin test varies from 15 to 50 euros, and for the second type, about 300 euros. These are not colossal sums”.