Compositional characterization of commercial sparkling wines from cv. Ribolla Gialla produced in Friuli Venezia Giulia

Ribolla Gialla (RG) is a white grape variety used in the production of high-quality sparkling wines. It is cultivated in a limited area between Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG—Northeast Italy) and Slovenia; for this reason, there is little information about the composition and chemical characteristics of the sparkling wines produced. This work used different analytical approaches (FTIR spectroscopy, UHPLC–MS/MS, liquid–liquid extraction, SPE and SPME–GC–MS) to characterize thirty-three commercial sparkling RG wines from different areas of FVG. The characteristics included the overall volatile profile and content of terpenes, C13-norisoprenoids, lipids, and metabolites of aromatic amino acids. The aroma profile of RG wines was mainly characterized by fermentative esters and β-damascenone, whereas other norisoprenoids and varietal aromas were below the odor threshold. Appreciable amounts of certain fatty acids were found (e.g., palmitic acid), which could be potentially correlated with greater foam stability. However, high concentrations of aromatic amino acids metabolites highlighted a higher risk of developing atypical aging defects.