Anthocyanins as markers for the classification of Argentinean wines according to botanical and geographical origin. Chemometric modeling of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry data.

A study of Argentinean red wines was performed by direct injection of untreated wine samples into a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system, processing the collected data with two chemometric algorithms: multivariate curve resolution with alternating least-squares and discriminant unfolded partial least-squares (D-UPLS). The objectives were: (1) the chemometric resolution of profiles in the modes represented by elution time and m/z ratio, (2) the discrimination of samples according to varietal and/or geographical origin, and (3) the identification of key compounds helping to perform sample discrimination. The results indicate that all wine varietals can be adequately discriminated, and also three wine producing regions (located in the east, south and north of the Cuyo region) were differentiated from the remaining regions. The applied chemometric models allowed the tentative identification of anthocyanin compounds as responsible for both type of discriminations, in the case of D-UPLS by employing the concept of variables importance in the projection.