Journal of Chromatography A, 977 (2002) 1–8 www.elsevier.com / locate / chroma Determination of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in wines by headspace solid- phase microextraction and gas chromatography–electron-capture detection * M. Riu, M. Mestres, O. Busto , J. Guasch ´ ´ ´ ` Departament de Quımica Analıtica i Quımica Organica ( Unitat d’ Enologia del CeRTA), Facultat d’ Enologia de Tarragona, ´ Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Ramon y Cajal 70, E-43005 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain Received 4 February 2002; received in revised form 7 August 2002; accepted 14 August 2002 Abstract One of the most important problems in the wine world, today, is cork taint, which often has been chemically identified as 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA). The perception limit of this compound is very low (close to 10 and 40 ng/l for white and red wines, respectively), so, even at such low concentrations, its presence becomes a problem in wine quality. A method for the analysis of TCA in white and red wines has been developed in our laboratory, using headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography with electron-capture detection. The method, which has been optimized using an experimental design, involves the use of fibres coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and allows the analysis of TCA at very low concentrations (under 500 ng / l) with good accuracy (RSD#10%). The limits of quantification of the method are 5 and 8 ng / l for white and red wines, respectively, while the limit of detection is 1 ng / l for both types of wine.  2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Wine; Solid-phase microextraction; Headspace analysis; 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole 1. Introduction isoborneol, it has been shown that chloroanisoles can give a musty taint to a variety of foods and bever- There is a growing concern in the wine industry ages, including wine [2–4]. The most odorant of the about the quality of the products it manufactures, chloroanisoles is 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) [5]. partly motivated by the increasing consumer aware- In 1996, a study set up by the European Cork ness on quality issues. Nowadays, consumers can Confederation, the QUERCUS project, investigated detect different organoleptic defects. One of those is the causes and origins of taints in corks. It found that cork taint [1]. TCA was responsible for the musty / mouldy taint in, Among other compounds such as geosmine, at least, 80% of cases when it was detected in bottled guaiacol, 1-octen-3-one, 1-octen-3-ol and 2-methyl- wines. Taking into account the estimated incidence of cork taint in wine bottles which ranges from 0.5 to 7%, this implies large economic losses [6,7]. How- ever, the true cork taint in wines is rare. This *Corresponding author. Tel.: 134-977-250-000; fax: 134-977- denotation gives the idea that the origin of this defect 250-347. E-mail address: qaenol@fe.urv.es (O. Busto). is only the cork; however there is evidence that the 0021-9673 / 02 / $ – see front matter  2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0021-9673(02)01276-1