Low molecular weight phenols in cork stoppers

In this work, we study the low molecular-weight polyphenols in cork stoppers obtained from commercial wine bottles and in samples taken at five stages of the cork stopper manufacturing process. The phenolic compounds (acids, aldehydes, and coumarins) were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector. The results were studied by statistical methods in order to determine the relationship among these compounds and their variability throughout the industrial processing. Discriminant analysis showed that the phenolic composition allows differentiation of each stage in the manufacture of cork stoppers and the different provenances of stoppers obtained from commercial wine bottles. The results showed wide variations in phenolic content among cork stoppers within each region and each winery.