In order to elucidate the aroma components of wine produced in the Loess Plateau region of China, volatile compounds of young wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischet and Chardonnay varieties grown in the new ecological region were investigated for the first time in this research. Among the volatile compounds analyzed by HS-SPME with GC-MS, a total of 45, 44 and 42 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischet and Chardonnay wines, respectively. In the volatiles detected, alcohols formed the most abundant group in the aroma compounds of the three wines, followed by esters and fatty acids. According to their odor active values (OAVs), 18 volatile compounds were always present in the three wines at concentrations higher than their threshold values, but ethyl octanoate, ethyl hexanoate, and isoamyl acetate were found to jointly contribute to 92.9%, 93.3%, and 98.7%, of the global aroma of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Gernischet and Chardonnay wines, respectively. These odorants are associated with “fruity’’ and ‘‘ripe fruit’’ odor descriptors.

The antioxidant activities in the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines from four wine grape-growing regions in China were measured by different analytical assays: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH·), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), superoxide radical-scavenging activity (SRSA) and the contents of total phenols, total flavonoids, total flavanols and total anthocyanins were determined. The results showed that the contents of phenolic compounds and the levels of antioxidant activity in the wine samples greatly varied with cultivar and environmental factors of vine growth. The contents of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines from the Yuquanying region of Ningxia were significantly higher than other three regions, followed by the wines from Shacheng region of Hebei, and these parameters were the lowest in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines from the Changli regions of Hebei and Xiangning region of Shanxi. Taken together, a close relationship between phenolic subclasses and antioxidant activity was observed for the wine samples. Moreover, there were significant discrepancies in the individual phenolic composition and content of four regional Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines, among which the individual phenolic compounds (catechin, epicatechin, cinnamic acid, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, laricitrin-3-O-glucoside and isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside) revealed a significant correlation (p < 0.05) with the antioxidant capacity in present study, especially for catechin and epicatechin.

Due to its appropriate climate characteristics, the Loess Plateau region is considered to be one of the biggest optimal regions for producing high-quality mountain wine in China. However, the complex landform conditions of vineyards are conducive to the formation of mountainous microclimates, which ultimately influence the wine quality. This study aimed to elucidate the influences of three terrain conditions of the Loess Plateau region on the aroma compounds of Cabernet Franc wines by using solid phase microextraction (SPME) with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 40, 36 and 35 volatiles were identified and quantified from the flat, lower slope and higher slope vineyards, respectively. Esters were the largest group of volatiles, accounting for 54.6–56.6% of total volatiles, followed by alcohols. Wines from the slope lands had the higher levels of aroma compounds than that from flat land. According to their aroma-active values (OAVs), ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate and isoamyl acetate were the most powerful compounds among the eight impact odorants, showing only quantitative but not qualitative differences between the three terrain wines. The shapes of the OAVs for three terrain wines were very similar.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the influence of terroir on the polyphenolic compounds, total antioxidant and aroma components of Cabernet Sauvignon red wines from five different wine-producing regions in China. The results obtained showed that the phenols concentrations and total antioxidant capacities from new wine 1 (NW1) were significantly the highest among five regional wines, the latter were new wine 3 (NW3), old wine 1 (OW1) and new wine 2 (NW2), these parameters in old wine 2 (OW2) were the lowest. But the contents of total anthocyanins in the NW2 was higher than both OW1 and NW3. All 58 and 51 volatile components were separately detected in three “new regions” and two “old regions” wines, the volatile fraction was constituted mainly alcohols, esters and acids. According to odor descriptor of these compounds, cheese, floral and fruity aroma was conferred the three new regional wines. The phenol, total antioxidant capacity and aroma components of Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be affected by environmental factors of terroirs in the different extent; three “new regions” have a big potential for producing high quality Cabernet Sauvignon wines.

The present study focused on the free radical-scavenging activity and anthocyanin profiles of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines produced from four different regions in China. The anthocyanin profiles in all wine samples were analysed by HPLC-MS/MS, while the free radical-scavenging activity was estimated by the DPPH assay. The results show that the contents of phenolic subclasses and the levels of antioxidant activity in all wine samples varied greatly among cultivars and environmental factors of vine growth, and these values were the most prominent in Yuquanling regional wines. As the main components in anthocyanins, the percentages of malvidin-3-O-glucoside and its derivatives showed differences within grape cultivars in the different regional wines; these monomeric anthocyanins (not present simultaneously in the four regional wines studied within grape cultivars) had concentrations below 10 mg Mv/L. A significant correlation was obtained between DPPH-scavenging ability and the total phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin content. It can be concluded that this information could be used as a biochemical marker for the authenticity of the single-cultivar red wines that were produced from the four regions above.