The phenolic cinnamates of white grapes and wine

Abstract

Abstract An isolation procedure was developed for the recovery of the cinnamate derivatives from Müller‐Thurgau white wine by means of adsorption on charcoal, elution with acidic methanol and repeated chromatography on Sephadex LH‐20 with dilute acetic acid as the eluent. The crystalline products recovered were cis ‐ and trans ‐ p ‐coumaroyl‐(+)‐tartaric (coutaric) acid and trans ‐caffeoyl‐(+)‐tartaric (caftaric) acid, as shown by spectral data, hydrolysis, chromatography, etc. The corresponding quinates were not detected and neither were ferulic acid derivatives nor the free cinnamic acids in this young white wine. The data are briefly discussed in relation to previous reports on these compounds in grapes or wines and their significance as wine constituents.