Establishment of influence the nitrogen content in musts and volatile profile of white wines associated to chemometric tools

• Clarification time of must influenced the nitrogen content, mainly amino acids compounds.
• The wine aroma can be explained by the amino acid composition.
• Aromatic profiles of wines are influenced by the must clarification time.

Many of the volatile compounds synthesized by yeast also change in response to the nitrogen concentration. It has been suggested that nitrogen management of wine fermentation can be an effective tool to modulate wine aroma composition and style. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of clarification time on the must of the white grapes, and to establish a practical understanding of the effect of the nitrogen content (amino acids and ammonium) on the must in relation to volatile profile of the wine. The musts were clarified by applying two settling time: 12 h and 30 h, and submitted to the same microvinification procedure. The results showed that the must clarification time, influenced significantly the nitrogen compounds content, where the total amino acid content was higher in musts clarified for a shorter time. Moreover, the aromatic profile of these experimental wines was clearly influenced by the must clarification time. Principal components analysis showed a strong influence of the must clarification time on the separation of the wines. The results confirm that the management of the nitrogen content of the musts can be used as a tool to obtain wines with different aromas.