7
Grappa is the spirit produced from grapemarc, or the skins of the grapes after they have
been pressed duringwine production. Grapemarc is fermented and distilled either direct-
ly or bywater vapor. Grappas generally do not require the same amount of aging as other
alcoholic beverages, although, for example, Italian law requires at least six months of
aging. Flavored grappas can be produced by adding ingredients such as herbs and fruits.
Flavor profiles of grappas contain hundreds of compounds at a wide range of concentra-
tions. The chromatographic profile of an example grappa is shown in Figure 7.
Grappa profile, determined by GC/MS, using a Stabilwax
®
-DA column and a large volume injection.
GC_FF00558
GC_FF00559
18
1920 21
22
23
24
25
26 27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40 41 42
43
44
45 46 47 48
49
50 51 52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59 60
6162
min.15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
GC_FF00560
1. ethyl octanoate
2. acetic acid
3. siloxane
4. furfural
5. propionic acid
6. benzaldehyde + linalool
7. isobutyric acid
8. methyl decanoate
9. butyric acid
10. siloxane
11. ethyl decanoate
12. isoamyl octanoate
13. isovaleric acid + 2-methylbutyric acid
14. susquiterpene (shoulder)
15. diethyl succinate
16. ethyl 9-decenoate
17.
α
-terpineol
18. (possible 3-methyl-2(5H)- furanone)
19. valeric acid + susquiterpene
20. linalool oxide
21. susquiterpene
22. isobutyl decanoate
23. 1-decanol
24.
β
-citronellol
25. susquiterpene
26. methyl salicylate + unknown
27. siloxane
28. methyl dodecanoate
29. hexyl octanoate + 2-tridecanone
30.
trans
-2,
trans
-4-decadienol
31. 2-phenylethyl acetate
32. hexanoic acid
33. ethyl dodecanoate
34. unknown
35. isoamyl decanoate
36. benzyl alcohol
37. unknown
38. 2-phenylethanol
39. 2-ethylhexanoic acid
40. heptanoic acid
41. dodecanol
42. phenol
43.
γ
-nonalactone
44. octanoic acid
45. siloxane
46. ethyl cinnamate
47.
γ
-decalactone + unknown
48. nonanoic acid
49. phenylethyl hexanoate
50. diethyl nonanedioate
51. methyl hexadecanoate
52. dimethyl naphthalene
53. ethyl hexadecanoate
54. decanoic acid
55. ethyl 9-hexadecenoate
56. geranic acid
57. 2-phenylethyl octanoate
58. dodecanoic acid
59. ethyl linoleate
60. diisobutyl phthalate
61. ethyl linolenate
62. phenylethyl decanoate
63. dibutyl phthalate
Stabilwax
®
-DA 30m, 0.18mm ID, 0.18µm (cat.# 550752)
Inj.:
10µL large volume injection (split
less), at 10µL/min.
Std. conc.:
neat
Gerstel CIS Injector:
35°C (hold 2min.), to 300°C@
10°C/sec. (hold 5min.)
Helium vent flow: 600mL/minwith 1.8min. vent end time
Carrier gas:
helium
Linear velocity:
45cm/sec.
Oven temp.:
60°C (hold 2min.) to 100°C@
20°C/min., to 240°C@ 5°C/min. (hold
10min.)
Det.:
MSD
Transfer line temp.: 240°C
Quadrupole temp.: 150°C
MS source temp.: 230°C
Scan range:
30–400amu
Ionization:
70eV
Mode:
EI
Chromatogram courtesy of
KevinMacNamara, Ph.D.,
IrishDistilleries, Ltd.
Figure 7
