Occurrence of biogenic amines in wine: The role of grapes

The evolution of biogenic amines from must to wine has been studied in seven different grape cultivars before and after malolactic fermentation. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations have been carried out using selected yeasts and bacteria that, in a previous study, were unable to produce biogenic amines. The study has been performed under aseptic conditions to exclude possible interferences due to uncontrolled contaminating microorganisms present in grapes and/or in the environment. The goal of this work was to investigate the influence of grape on biogenic amines content of the wine. The results obtained showed that grape variety is related to the presence of some biogenic amines in wines and that, climatic conditions also affect the accumulation of these compounds in grapes. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.