Use and limitations of ICP-OES in wine analysis

At present, some 50 inorganic components in wine can be detected, of which 8 are mineral matter at concentrations down to 1 mg/l, about 25 are trace elements with concentrations of 0.001–0.1 mg/l, and about 20 are ultratrace elements at concentrations below 1 g/1. It has been shown that ICP-OES, a typical multielement detection method, permits the fast and reliable simultaneous determination of whole range of these inorganic species in wine, and thus can help in solving practical problems in wine manufacture. For instance, the metal content of wine can be checked, and corrosion and contamination monitored. Ten trace elements (Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, V, Zn) which may be toxic or to which wine is sensitive, can be determined, and their decrease through fermentation and fining established. Above all, ICP-OES seems suitable for defining the grape type and origin of wines in wine taxonomy (pattern analysis). Data obtained by ICP-OES can also help in assigning a vintage year.Presented in part at the 1989 European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, Reutte, Austria