Comparison of Conventional and Organic Wines Produced in Kutnohorsk Region (Czech Republic)

Abstract

A healthy lifestyle and environmental protection play a big role in today’s modern society. The production of organic wine, as with other organic commodities, is therefore becoming increasingly popular with consumers. The selling price of organic wine is higher than that of wine that is not declared organic or BIO, so the question arises from consumers as to whether these wines contain more bioactive compounds and substances beneficial to the body. From a general point of view, it is known that grapevines contain a wide range of natural phenols and polyphenols. These substances affect the sensory properties of wines, especially color and taste. The most phenolic substances are found in red wines, slightly less in orange wines, and the lowest amounts are found in white wines. However, the representation of individual substances and their ratios differs based on the varieties and age of the wines. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the profile (chemical, physical, and sensory) of organic wines compared to wines created from nonorganic grapes, which are grown in a selected wine region—Kutná Hora. The analyzed wines were created from the same grape wine cultivar in the Kutná Hora area. The following analyses were performed on the wine samples: the phenolic and antioxidant profiles, the content of sulfites (free and total), alcohol, sugars, vitamins, density determination, and also sensory evaluation. The present study showed exact differences between samples of wines produced from the same cultivar and the same region, but declared as organic wines and wines from conventional production. Although a higher number of bioactive substances is expected in wines from organic production, in most cases it did not show a statistically significant difference in the sense of a higher amount in BIO wines; on the contrary, in many cases, the content of these substances was higher in wines from integrated production.