Rapid method for proline determination in grape juice and wine

Proline is typically the most abundant amino acid present in grape juice and wine. The amount present is influenced by viticultural and winemaking factors and can be of diagnostic importance. A method for rapid routine quantitation of proline would therefore be of benefit for wine researchers and the industry in general. Colorimetric determination utilizing isatin as a derivatizing agent has previously been applied to plant extracts, biological fluids, and protein hydrolysates. In the current study, this method has been successfully adapted to grape juice and wine and proved to be sensitive to milligram per liter amounts of proline. At sugar concentrations above 60 g/L, interference from the isatin-proline reaction was observed, such that proline concentrations were considerably underestimated in grape juice and dessert wine. However, the method was robust for the analysis of fermentation samples and table wines. Results were within ±10% agreement with data generated from typical HPLC-based analyses. The isatin method is therefore considered suitable for the routine analysis required to support research into the utilization or release of proline by yeast during fermentation.