Untargeted UHPLC-MS metabolomics reveals candidate regional markers in commercial wines from Southern Brazil

ABSTRACT: Rio Grande do Sul is Brazil’s leading wine-producing state and hosts the majority of the country’s Geographical Indications. This study hypothesizes that commercial Merlot and Chardonnay wines from different Geographical Indications and municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul exhibit distinct chemical fingerprints identifiable by untargeted UHPLC–MS/MS metabolomic profiling. To test this hypothesis, a strategy based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) was employed. The integration of metabolomic profiling with multivariate statistical analyses, alongside the evaluation of reducing and antioxidant capacity, enabled a differentiation of wines from the two main mesoregions, Campanha and Serra Gaúcha, despite the high variability of the dataset. Metabolite annotation revealed that several some discriminant compounds were associated with agronomic practices, oenological processes, and climatic conditions, with particular emphasis on variations in ultraviolet radiation exposure. Nitrogen-containing metabolites, such as amino acids, peptides, and choline, as well as flavonols and anthocyanins, consistently played a central role in regional discrimination. Notably, the recurrent detection of quercetin as a distinguishing feature of Serra Gaúcha wines underscores its potential utility as a chemical marker linked to terroir. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that metabolomic profiling constitutes a robust and reliable approach for investigating geographical origin, typicity, and authenticity in Brazilian wines.

INSTRUMENT(S): Liquid Chromatography MS - negative - reverse-phase, Liquid Chromatography MS - positive - reverse-phase

PROVIDER: MTBLS14574 | MetaboLights | 2026-06-15

REPOSITORIES: MetaboLights