The Oenolab team performs applied research and develops applications in the field of winemaking and technologies for the production of alcoholic beverages. The laboratory collaborates with private companies, public authorities and research institutions for commissioned projects with the aim of innovating both products, processes, and evaluate the effects of novel technologies on the chemical and sensory quality of the final products. Multiparametric analysis and high resolution instrumental chemical analysis coupled on-line to mass spectrometry are carried out to evaluate the quality of raw materials, intermediate products and finished products (must, wine, ingredients, materials and packaging including closure systems) and the effects of different production, conditioning and storage technologies.
The main research topics of the Oenolab team include:
study of the effects of the quality of raw materials, processing technology, fermentation, oxidation and maturation conditions on the quality of wines, alcoholic beverages and collateral products of the wine supply chain from the grape to the bottle identification and evaluation of chemical and sensory quality markers for the authentication of wines and other alcoholic beverages from the soil to the bottle relationships between the chemical composition and sensory characteristics, studied through the approach of multivariate statistical analysis (chemometrics) development of methods of extraction, purification and high-resolution instrumental characterization (chromatography and mass spectrometry) of natural components related to the supply chain of wine and other alcoholic beverages
Oenolab has moved to NOI TechPark in June 2019.
Instrumentation already available or planned is the following:
- Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) with Photodiode Array Detector and Fluorimeter
- Gas chromatograph - Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS)
- Multiparametric wine analyzer (enzymatic/colorimetric)
- Turbidimeter
- Comprehensive Bidimensional GC-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (2DGC-TOF-MS) (by 2019) for the chemical profiling of volatiles or small molecular weight components with a greater peak capacity and greater separation of co-eluting compounds
- HPLC combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS) (by 2019) for the identification of organic compounds and simultaneous multi-element measurement (in collaboration with the research group of Agricultural Chemistry at UNIBZ, Prof. Tanja Mimmo)
NOI Techpark A2.3.03c