A rapid method for simultaneously determining ethanol and methanol content in wines by full evaporation headspace gas chromatography

This work reports on a full evaporation headspace gas chromatographic (FE HS-GC) method for simultaneously determining the ethanol (EtOH) and methanol (MeOH) content in wines. A small sample (10 μL) was placed in a headspace sample vial, and a near-complete mass transfer of ethanol and methanol from the liquid sample to the vapor phase was obtained within three minutes at a temperature of 105 °C, which allowed the measurement of the EtOH and MeOH content in the sample by GC. The results showed excellent precision and accuracy, as shown by the reproducibilities of 1.02% and 2.11% for EtOH and MeOH, respectively, and recoveries that ranged from 96.1% to 104% for both alcohols. The method is efficient, accurate and suitable for the determination of EtOH and MeOH in wine production and quality control.