Polish wines: Characteristics of cool-climate wines

The aim of this work was to characterize the physical, chemical and antioxidant properties of selected Polish wines, produced from grapevines cultivated in the cool climate of Podkarpacie. Most of the analysed wines were characterized by a small amount of total extract (less than 4%), by ethanol concentration ranging from 9.9 to 11.0% and by titratable acidity from 4.0 to 8.7 g of malic acid/L. The total polyphenol content was closely correlated with antioxidant activity (R2 = 0.96). Red wines were distinguished from white wines by 4–5 times higher antioxidant activity (671–746 mg of Trolox/100 mL) and by increased total amount of polyphenols (127–135 mg of catechin/100 mL). The prevailing volatile compounds of wines were amyl alcohols and isobutanol. Especially high concentrations of the above compounds were present in liqueur wines (>220 and 180 mg/L, respectively). Polish wines contained also high levels of ethyl acetate (11–161 mg/L).