Direct Analysis of the Major Organic Components in Grape Must and Wine Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed for the isocratic separation and quantification of the major organic acids, sugars, and alcohols in wine and grape must using a dual cation exchange column system without sample preparation. The sample is filtered through a 0.45-µm membrane and injected, separated, and quantified in less than 40 minutes. Statistical evaluation of the HPLC method showed it to be highly reproducible, reliable, and stable. A comparison was made between the HPLC method and conventional volumetric, distillation, and enzymatic methods of analysis. The statistical analysis showed good agreement in accuracy and precision between the methods compared.