High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) Analysis of Red Wine Pigments

An HPTLC method has been developed to give qualitative and quantitative information on red wine pigments. The samples are prepared by solid-phase extraction (SPE) on C18 cartridges. Analytical determination is done by chromatography on C18 silica gel plates with isocratic elution with methanol—water—trifluoracetic acid, 55 + 45 + 1 (v/v). This method leads to the clear separation of the three classes of Vitis vinifera anthocyanins with good statistical repeatability and reproducibility for wines of different vintages. It also enables evaluation of the amount of polymeric pigments in red wines.