Geographic classification of U.S. Washington State wines using elemental and water isotope composition

Wine fraud leaves wineries vulnerable to damage in reputation and potential lost revenue. To reduce this risk for wines from Washington State (WA), USA, advanced analytical instrumentation and statistical methods were employed to geographically classify 133 wines from 4 major wine producing regions, including 70 wines from WA. Analyses of 37 elements and 2 water isotopes were performed with Triple Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy, respectively. Linear discriminant analysis resulted in 96.2% discrimination, achieved with 11 parameters (Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, As, D/H, La, Ce, Si, Zr and Sr) that were linearly combined into 3 functions. WA wines were uniquely distinguished in large part with low D/H ratios and Mn concentrations derived from the isotopically light precipitation and volcanic loess soils encountered in this region, respectively. This study is the first of its kind to focus on the authentication of WA wines.