Differentiation of wines according to grape variety using multivariate analysis of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection data

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection (GC×GC/TOFMS) was used to analyse the volatiles in five types of wines elaborated with grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir varieties. Fisher ratio, principal component analysis (PCA) and stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) were used to develop a discriminant model and, as a result, 12 volatile compounds enabled differentiation and classification of wines according to grape cultivars. A detailed examination of GC×GC/TOFMS data showed that the use of one-dimensional gas chromatography with a mass spectrometric detector (1D-GC/MS) would probably result in misidentification of some of these 12 compounds, as they showed partial coelution with other components in the first chromatographic dimension.