WCPS: Elemental Differences In Single Vineyard Pinot noir Wines From Six Neighborhoods within One Wine Region

Importance of the Topic

Determining the geographical origin of wine has become critical for producers, regulators and consumers seeking authenticity, quality assurance and prevention of fraud. Multi-elemental profiling provides a robust fingerprint that reflects vineyard micro-regions, soil composition, water sources and viticultural practices, offering a powerful tool for verifying place-of-origin down to single-vineyard neighborhoods.

Goals and Study Overview

This study examined 25 Pinot noir wines from single-vineyard plots across five adjacent neighborhoods within one American Viticultural Area (AVA). All wines were from the 2016 vintage, fermented under minimal oak contact and controlled enological conditions. The primary objective was to assess whether macro, micro and trace element concentrations and their ratios could reliably distinguish wines by neighborhood origin.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Samples were diluted 1:3 in 5% HNO₃ and calibrated with matrix-matched standards. Five spiked samples were used to assess method recovery. Data analysis included univariate and multivariate ANOVA and Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) to identify discriminating elements and classify wines by neighborhood.

Instrumentation

• Agilent 8800/8900 ICP-MS/MS with concentric micromist quartz double-glass spray chamber, He and O₂ collision/reaction gases.
• Agilent 4200/4210 MP-AES with concentric micromist double-pass cyclonic spray chamber.

Main Results and Discussion

• A total of 49 elements were detected above limits of detection, and several elemental ratios (e.g., K/(Na+K+Rb+Cs), Ca/(Ca+Mg), Fe/(Sc+Ti+V+Cr+Mn+Fe+Co+Ni+Cu+Zn)) were calculated to enhance discrimination.
• MANOVA identified 40 variables that differed significantly among neighborhoods (P < 0.05).
• CVA separated the five neighborhoods with 65% of variance explained by CV1 (dominated by K, B, Rb, Ni, Cs, Ba vs. Cd, Ta, Pt) and 22% by CV2 (driven by Fe and K ratios, V, Co, Ni and rare earth elements).
• Elemental fingerprints reflect influences of soil composition, rootstock uptake, water sources, nutrient management and minor winery practices.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Multi-elemental profiling enables authentication of wine origin at a fine geographic scale, supports regulatory compliance, strengthens brand protection, and provides data for terroir characterization and quality control in commercial wine production.

Future Trends and Opportunities

Ongoing research is investigating detailed soil composition, water source impacts and scion-rootstock interactions. Integration with isotopic analyses, metabolomics and machine learning offers potential to refine classification models and develop rapid, field-deployable screening tools for vineyard-level authentication.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that elemental composition and ratios effectively discriminate single-vineyard Pinot noir wines from adjacent neighborhoods within one AVA. The results highlight the feasibility of multi-elemental fingerprinting as a practical approach for sub-regional origin verification.

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