A Study of the Biogenesis of Amines in a Villard Noir Wine

Abstract

The occurrence of seven biogenic amines in red wine, as a result of bacterial metabolism, was studied. Four homogeneous lots of Villard noir must were vinified under the following conditions: 1) 22°C, pH adjusted to 3.3 and 3.8; 2)13°C, pH adjusted to 3.3 and 3.8. After the alcoholic fermentation was completed, the wines were filter-sterilized and given various treatments: a) addition of 100 mg free SO₂/L to prevent bacterial metabolism; b) natural malolactic fermentation (MLF); c) inoculation with <i>Leuconostoc oenos</i>; d) inoculation with <i>Pediococcus cervisiae</i>; e) inoculation with both L. <i>oenos</i> and <i>P. cerevisiae</i>. Samples for analysis were removed before and after the completion of the MLF. Phenylethylamine was absent from all samples. Musts contained ethanolamine and tyramine in minute amounts (40 and 3.5 µmol/L, respectively). Cadaverine and histamine, absent from the must, were detected in highest quantities after the alcoholic fermentation but decreased significantly after completion of the MLF (5.0 <i>vs</i> 1.0 µmol/L and 10.0 <i>vs</i> 4.0 µmol/L, respectively). The tyramine content increased during both the alcoholic fermentation and the MLF (21 and 37 µmol/L, respectively). Agmatine, putrescine and ethanolamine were produced during alcoholic fermentation (3, 3 and 340 µmol/L, respectively) and their concentrations did not change appreciably during MLF. Temperature, pH and type of organism affected the content of the various amines in different ways. This study does not support the contention that amines are the products of the malolactic flora.