Practical investigations
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I am doing my practical investigation on wine analysis, including the acidity in wine. I was wondering if you could tell me what effect the acidity has on the taste of red wine, and is this just the volatile acids or all of them? Also, in finding out the total acidity, will I have to find out the amounts of volatile acids as well as the non-volatile ones? Finally, is it possible to find out the amounts of volatile acids using thin layer chromatography, and if not, how could I do this?
Igloo writes ...
The taste of wine is a highly complex issue and is dependent on so many factors, including the acidity content, as well as that of all the other components, including the esters and tannins in particular. However, I am sure that a more acid wine which have a "sharper" taste than that of one which is less acidic, and that both volatile and non volatile acids will contribute to this "sharpness".
For a well-rounded and thorough investigation it is helpful to know the concentration of both the volatile and non volatile acids, though of course you may well have carried out other analyses, e.g. of the esters and tannins present. Even so, do remember that "quality is just as important as quantity".
Unfortunately the volatile acids tend not to show up in thin-layer chromatography. You will have to use a distillation and subsequent titration of the distillate to estimate their concentration. The method is briefly described in the tutorial on wine investigations on this website.
Always carry out a risk assessment and check with your teacher before starting any practical work.
Risk assessment
Before attempting any practical work based on the advice and suggestions on this website, you must do the following. Identify any hazards, assess the risks from these hazards, and then decide appropriate control measures to reduce the risks. You must have these approved by those in authority in your school or college laboratory. Do not rely on what is said on this website.
For further guidance see our tutorial on Risk Assessment.
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updated: 20 January 2006
