A fast and environment-friendly MEPSPEP/UHPLC-PDA methodology to assess 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone in fortified wines

Sotolon is widely associated with the quality of fortified aged wines, and has also been linked to premature oxidative aging (premox). Here we developed a single, fast and environmental-friendly microextraction by packed sorbent ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography analysis (MEPS/UHPLC-PDA) for sotolon quantification in different wines. The best extraction conditions (loading three times 250 μL samples through the MEPSPEP sorbent and elution with 100 μL of 50% MeOH) were combined with a fast UHPLC separation (5 min separation using acidified 10% MeOH isocratic flow in a CORTECS C18 column) to allow unparalleled minimum sample and solvents volumes usage. The validated methodology showed good linearity (r2 > 0.993) and precision (<5.6%); high recovery (>81%) and detection limits (0.45-2.51 μg/L) far below sotolon odor threshold for any type of wine. The methodology was successfully applied to selected white table and Madeira wines, encompassing therefore a wide range of alcohol and sugar contents. Furthermore, as far we may know, this is the first time a single methodology can be used to assess both wine aging or premox according to the type of wine.