Multi-element analysis and differentiation of Chilean wines using mineral composition and multivariate statistics

The concentration of seventeen mineral elements was analyzed in 130 commercial samples of Chilean wines, using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The elements analyzed were within the usual concentration ranges previously reported in other wine regions; for instance: Fe, 2.08±0.99 mg L -1 ; Zn, 0.71±0.44 mg L -1 ; K, 788.10±219.66 mg L -1 ; Na, 14.62±8.61 mg L -1 . When the mineral content of the samples was compared among wine areas, significant differences in the concentration of K, Na, Mn, Mg, Zn, and Cr were observed ( p ≤ 0.05). Moreover, principal component and linear discriminant analyses were used to discriminate wines according to provenance, obtaining adjustments above 90 % for white wines and over 70 % for red wines.