The determination of the authenticity of wine from its trace element composition

Multi-element analysis of 112 Spanish and English wines by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was undertaken to ascertain whether or not this method could provide data for determining the region of origin of wine. Flow injection analysis proved superior to continuous nebulisation. Quality assurance of these measurements proved entirely satisfactory and was typical of that previously established for this technique. An intercomparison exercise with another expert laboratory showed satisfactory agreement. The data was examined using the statistical technique of discriminant analysis. This was able to unequivocally identify the region of origin of Spanish wines from three different regions. It was also possible to completely differentiate English and Spanish white wines. If red and rose wines were included in the Spanish set, the English and Spanish populations could be distinguished with 95% accuracy. This preliminary study has indicated the power which multi-element analysis can bring to determining the region of origin of wines. At present, no other technique has the ability to perform this categorisation. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.