Introduction

The invention consists of an innovative analytical method, and in the related device, to quantify the level of tannins in wines and oenological products. The method allows direct measurement of tannins in wines without the need for neither sample preparation and purification nor separation techniques.

Technical features

The tannin content in the various stages of processing of grape, musts and wines is a technological parameter of a great importance, requiring though sophisticated and expensive measurement techniques which are often beyond the producers’ capacities. Many technologies have been developed to rapidly determine the total content of polyphenols, whose variable percentage are tannins. However, despite its importance, the information on the tannin content in the wine is not easily available to the operators working in the cellars.

The invention aims to fill this gap by providing a quick and convenient quantitative measurement. In the future, the device is envisaged to transform into a dedicated analytical device of small format, equipped with processing software and a data-sharing system allowing to implement the calibration and further improvement of the test.

Possible Applications

• In the wine sector, to be used by technicians and potentially, in the future, even by cellar staff;
• Applied to other food matrices, to be deployed for the determination of the same class of compounds.

Advantages

• Simplicity of execution and reproduction of the method;
• Simple design of the whole device;
• Very low costs of implementation and industrialization;
• Economic and decision-making autonomy of the test operators.