Wine is one of the oldest and most highly valued alcoholic beverages. It is produced by fermenting grape juice without the addition of enzymes, sugars or other nutrients. Wine primarily consists of ethanol and water, which are its main components, but it also contains numerous other compounds such as sugars, organic acids, vitamins and minerals that contribute to its taste and aroma. In this work, I analysed and compared physicochemical properties of 79 different Chardonnay wine samples. By adjusting the pH, the aim was to determine whether the physicochemical characteristics change with the addition of acid (HCl) or base (NaOH). The study employed Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) to identify the functional groups present in the samples based on the absorption of infrared light at different wavelengths. It was observed that there were no significant differences between the spectra at different pH levels, which could be attributed to the high content of ethanol and water, or the fact that the addition of acid or base does not cause substantial structual changes to the predominant molecules. The concentrations of metals in the samples were determined using Inductively Couples Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Of the 36 elements analysed, only 19 were above the detection limit and the rest were not included for further analysis. Based on these results, the wine samples were classified according to three Slovenian wine-growing regions – Dolenjska, Primorska and Štajerska. To statistically evaluate the data, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to investigate whether the elemental composition of wine differs depending on its geographical origin. Wines from Štajerska and Primorska generally formed two distinct froups, while wines from Dolenjska did not form a seperate group but rather overlapped with samples from both other regions. This could be due to differences in soil composition where the vines grow, which in turn affects the elemental composition of the wine and contributes to regional differences.
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