Elemental Profiling of Malbec Wines under Controlled Conditions Using Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy

Microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (MP-AES) was used for elemental analysis of Malbec wines from Argentina and the US. Using results from the analysis of six elements (Sr, Rb, Ca, K, Na, and Mg), Malbec wines from Mendoza, Argentina, and California were compared. The Malbec wines from these two countries were distinguished based on the results of their elemental profiles in a partial least squares-discriminant analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first time that MP-AES was used to determine the geographical origin of Malbec wines using six different elements.