VOLATILE COMPOSITION OF VERNACCIA-DI-ORISTANO SHERRY-LIKE WINE AS AFFECTED BY BIOLOGICAL AGING

Forty compounds were identified by gas chromatography and gas chromato graphy/mass spectrometry in the volatile fraction of Vernaccia di Oris tano, an Italian sherry-like wine produced in Sardinia since the 11th century. The individual aromatic compounds were identified and quantif ied in the original wine, both after biological ageing by inoculation of the original wine with Saccharomyces cerevisiae var bayanus and S c erevisiae var prostoserdovii, and after ageing under sterile condition s. The effects of flor yeasts in terms of production or subtraction of flavour components are discussed.