Uneven distribution of thiol precursors across red grape berry compartments shapes wine aroma quality: effects of variety, vintage, and skin composition
Abstract
Varietal thiols constitute key aroma compounds in wine and occur in grape berries as odorless precursors. This study aimed to characterize thiol precursor diversity in 32 red grape varieties (Vitis vinifera and hybrids) by examining their distribution across berry compartments and assessing the effects of grape variety, vintage, and skin cell wall composition. Significant varietal differences were observed in thiol precursor content among berry tissues (average of 10.08 ± 15.02 μg/kg in skins, 10.22 ± 9.59 μg/kg in pulps and 0.94 ± 0.89 μg/kg in seeds), providing the first evidence of biosynthetic activity in seeds. Vintage strongly influenced precursor levels in all compartments, with a higher effect in skins, underscoring their central role. The lack of correlation between precursor content in berries and musts may indicate a selective extraction maybe due to interactions with cell wall polysaccharide. Furthermore, no correlation was found between must precursors and volatile thiols in wine, highlighting the complexity of thiol formation.
Related
- Seaweed-derived biostimulants differentially enhance growth, nutritional composition, antioxidant capacity, and sensory quality of cultivated Caulerpa racemosa
- Carcass Traits, Meat Quality, Hydrolyzed Amino Acid Composition, and GC-IMS Volatile Signal Profiles in Kazakh Lambs Fed Diets Containing Fermented Cottonseed Hulls.
- Effects of Pre-Slaughter Dietary Supplementation with a Phytogenic Additive Containing Passiflora incarnata and Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni Extracts on Oxidative Status, Inflammatory Responses, Carcass Quality, Meat Composition, and Bone Morphology in Broilers.
- Effects of Hydroponic Barley Green Fodder Supplementation on Egg Quality and Proximate Composition in ATAK-S, Lohmann Brown, and Leghorn Laying Hens
- Sensitive untargeted metabolomics via 3-nitrophenylhydrazine derivatization maps gut microbiota-related metabolites across multiple mouse biological compartments
BibTeX
@article{cesson2026uneven,
title = {{Uneven distribution of thiol precursors across red grape berry compartments shapes wine aroma quality: effects of variety, vintage, and skin composition}},
author = {Andréa Cesson and Somaya Sachot and Thierry Doco and Marie-Agnès Ducasse and Bodil Jørgensen and Lene Grønne Pedersen and Amélie Roy and Juliette Simon and Mélanie Veyret and Isabelle Sanchez and Jean-Roch Mouret and Céline Poncet-Legrand and Aurélie Roland},
journal = {Food Chemistry},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.151478},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05840880v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Uneven distribution of thiol precursors across red grape berry compartments shapes wine aroma quality: effects of variety, vintage, and skin composition
AU - Andréa Cesson
AU - Somaya Sachot
AU - Thierry Doco
AU - Marie-Agnès Ducasse
AU - Bodil Jørgensen
AU - Lene Grønne Pedersen
AU - Amélie Roy
AU - Juliette Simon
AU - Mélanie Veyret
AU - Isabelle Sanchez
AU - Jean-Roch Mouret
AU - Céline Poncet-Legrand
AU - Aurélie Roland
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Food Chemistry
DO - 10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.151478
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05840880v1
AB - Varietal thiols constitute key aroma compounds in wine and occur in grape berries as odorless precursors. This study aimed to characterize thiol precursor diversity in 32 red grape varieties (Vitis vinifera and hybrids) by examining their distribution across berry compartments and assessing the effects of grape variety, vintage, and skin cell wall composition. Significant varietal differences were observed in thiol precursor content among berry tissues (average of 10.08 ± 15.02 μg/kg in skins, 10.22 ± 9.59 μg/kg in pulps and 0.94 ± 0.89 μg/kg in seeds), providing the first evidence of biosynthetic activity in seeds. Vintage strongly influenced precursor levels in all compartments, with a higher effect in skins, underscoring their central role. The lack of correlation between precursor content in berries and musts may indicate a selective extraction maybe due to interactions with cell wall polysaccharide. Furthermore, no correlation was found between must precursors and volatile thiols in wine, highlighting the complexity of thiol formation.
SN - 0308-8146
SN - 1873-7072
ER -