UHPLC quantification of sotolon in white wine

Sotolon (4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-one) is a volatile compound involved in the atypical aging of dry white wine, causing an irreversible defect when it exceeds 7-8 μg L-1, and it might be adopted as a chemical marker of oxidative aging. An easier and sensitive ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography method for its determination in white wine is reported. The sample preparation is based on the liquid/liquid extraction by dichloromethane and the purification by solid phase extraction of the redissolved dry sample. This method showed good linearity and intermediate repeatability (<0.7 μg L-1), high recovery (>89.5%), and low detection limit (0.029 μg L-1). This method was usefully applied to 30 Italian sparkling and still white wine samples, where sotolon was not detected in most of them and exceeded the perception threshold only in one sparkling wine (13 μg L-1). The proposed method could be used to further investigate the aging/storage conditions and the chemical-physical parameters affecting its formation in wine.