Screening of the Volatile Composition and Olfactory Properties of Aglianico and Primitivo, Two Southern Italian Red Wines

Gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry and sensory descriptive analyses were applied to provide new data on volatile and olfactory properties of Aglianico and Primitivo (Zinfandel), Italian red wines of growing interest. The relationships between data sets were investigated by multivariate statistical analyses: Principal Component and Hierarchical Clustering Analyses (PCA, HCA). A total of 35% of the volatiles varied significantly (ANOVA) between the two wines, mostly showing higher amounts in the Aglianico samples. Multivariate analyses showed intra-varietal similarity and inter-varietal diversity in terms of aromatic characteristics. PCA indicated that Aglianico wines were mainly related to the main fermentative alcohols, with a sensory impact, and to terpenols, suggesting a potential discriminating power at a compositional level. Primitivo wines formed two groups, one of which correlated to the floral aroma vector linked to beta-phenethyl acetate and beta-ionone. These findings may be valuable for updating the information on these wines and for future research to improve and obtain more targeted production and communication approaches.