Scientists Find Unique Fingerprints Linked to a Wine’s Origin

A BBC.com article discusses research from the University of California-Davis presented at this summer’s American Chemical Society meeting.

UC-Davis researchers asked trained tasters to evaluate Malbec grown in different regions of California and Argentina. The findings suggested the Argentine examples had “more ripe fruit characteristics, sweetness and higher alcohol levels” while those from California exhibited greater bitterness along with “more artificial fruit and citrus aromas.”

The subjective distinctions between the two origins were confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Separately, in an abstract appearing on the website of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the study’s authors explain that the differences between the two countries were associated more with altitude than precipitation and degree days.

In a related study by Dr. Susan Ebeler of UC-Davis (co-author of the Malbec research), it was found that elements such as boron, zinc and nickel serve as a ‘barcode of the earth’ which is carried over to the grapes.