Identification of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF) in Cava sparkling wines by LC-DAD-MS/MS and NMR spectrometry

The aim of this study was to elucidate the structure of a potential ageing marker for Cava sparkling wine. In order to clarify the structure of this compound, NMR spectroscopy and hyphenated UHPLC-DAD-MS/MS techniques were used. We identified the hitherto unknown compound as 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfuraldehyde (5-HMF). This is the first time that this compound has been reported in sparkling wines. A survey, based on the analysis of 80 commercial sparkling wines, showed that 5-HMF is present between 0.25 and 12.81 mg/L, and is compared with those reported for other types of wine. Hypothetical origin of 5-HMF in Cava sparkling wine is discussed.