Chardonnay wine originates from Burgundy and is one of the most widely spread varieties worldwide. The wine consists of a mixture of various compounds, where each component or their combination affects the properties of the wine. These compounds are part of the grape, products of yeast fermentation, and a result of prolonged aging and storage. The main components of wine are water and ethanol, while other present components include sugars, acids, other alcohols, and phenols, which influence the acidity, sweetness, colour, taste and sensory profile of the wine. The aim of my master’s thesis was to explore how the concentrations of different analytes mutually affect the properties of the wine. For this purpose, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used, and the connections between selected 12 organic acids, 5 inorganic ions and 19 elements was evaluated. As a part of my master’s thesis, I developed a method for separating 17 selected analytes using ion chromatography (IC) with a conductivity detector and analysed 79 Chardonnay samples. Using inductively coupled plasma with optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), I determined 36 elements, however, 17 of them were below the detection limit. PCA analyses based on different wine characteristics was conducted, including i) wine production region, ii) sugar level, and iii) wine quality. The best grouping of data according to Slovenian wine regions was achieved with microelements (13 elements) determined by ICP-OES. Wines from Primorska and Podravje grouped into two distinguished groups, which can be attributed to different soil composition, climate, and wine production methods. Wines from Posavje partially overlapped with wines from Primorska in Podravje. Interestingly, the best separation and grouping of the Slovenian wines according to the sugar level was achieved with 36 analytes determined by IC and ICP-OES. Semi-dry and dry wines were grouped into two groups. The samples of sweet and semi-sweet wines were overlapped or scattered among dry and semi-dry wines. The best separation and grouping of all wine samples (Slovenian and foreign) according to wine quality was achieved based on all analytes (19 elements) determined by ICP-OES. Quality, premium, and premium sparkling wines grouped into three groups, with overlapping quality and premium wines. For better results in future research, I suggest determining the concentration of a larger number of analytes, more wine samples, use of different separation columns and two mobile phases in ion chromatography and using ICP-MS instead of ICP-OES due to lower limits of detection.
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