Decoding Wine Chemistry: Bridging Tradition and Innovation in Analytical Techniques

Wine is one of the most chemically complex food matrices, containing thousands of compounds spanning organic acids, polyphenols, volatile aromatics, polysaccharides, peptides, biogenic amines, and trace metals. Each compound class contributes to color, aroma, mouthfeel, stability, and physiological activity, and each is shaped by grape variety, terroir, microbial activity during fermentation, oak contact, filtration, bottling, and storage. For more than a century, wine analysis relied on titrimetric, gravimetric, and early chromatographic methods that delivered robust but narrow readouts of a handful of target analytes. The last two decades have transformed this landscape: ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, high-resolution and ion mobility mass spectrometry, NMR, and vibrational spectroscopy now permit untargeted profiling of the wine metabolome at unprecedented depth. In parallel, chemometrics, machine learning, and portable sensor platforms are moving advanced analysis from centralized laboratories to wineries and supply chains. Yet traditional reference methods remain the regulatory and sensory benchmark, creating an open dialogue between heritage practice and emerging instrumentation.This Research Topic aims to consolidate current and novel analytical strategies that characterize the structural, functional, and bioactive components of wine, and to clarify how processing, aging, and storage reshape its chemical profile. We invite contributions that benchmark cutting-edge instrumentation against established reference methods, that quantify previously inaccessible minor constituents, and that link molecular composition to sensory, nutritional, or toxicological outcomes. By bringing together work that bridges tradition and innovation, the collection seeks to support reproducible wine analysis, inform sustainable winemaking practices, and advance the Food Chemistry section’s mission to connect molecular food technology to bioactivity, in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).We welcome Original Research, Brief Research Reports, Methods, Reviews, and Mini Reviews addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Targeted and untargeted analytical workflows for wine metabolomics, including UHPLC, GC×GC, IMS, HRMS, NMR, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy• Identification and quantification of phenolic compounds, volatile aroma compounds, biogenic amines, mycotoxins, pesticide residues, and trace metals• Chemical and biochemical changes induced by fermentation, malolactic conversion, oak aging, fining, filtration, bottling, and long-term storage• Migration and interaction of non-food materials (closures, coatings, packaging) with the wine matrix and their effect on chemical stability• Structure–activity and dose–activity relationships linking wine components to sensory, nutritional, or physiological outcomes• Chemometric, machine learning, and data-fusion approaches applied to wine authentication, origin, and adulteration detection• Real-time, in-line, and portable sensor technologies for winery and supply-chain monitoring• Comparative studies that benchmark novel analytical techniques against OIV or traditional reference methods Topic editors: Agnieszka Elżbieta Nawirska-Olszańska, Marta Czaplicka Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83332/decoding-wine-chemistry-bridging-tradition-and-innovation-in-analytical-techniques