Light-Struck Taste in White Wine: Protective Role of Glutathione, Sulfur Dioxide and Hydrolysable Tannins

Light exposure of white wine can cause a light-struck taste (LST), a fault induced by riboflavin (RF) and methionine (Met) leading to the formation of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), including methanethiol (MeSH) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS). The study aimed to investigate the impact of different antioxidants, i.e., sulfur dioxide (SO₂), glutathione (GSH) and chestnut tannins (CT), on preventing LST in model wine (MW) and white wine (WW), both containing RF and Met. Both MW and WW samples were added with the antioxidants, either individually or in different combinations, prior to 2-h light exposure and they were stored in the dark for 24 months. As expected, the light induced the degradation of RF in all the conditions assayed. Met also decreased depending on the antioxidants added. The presence of antioxidants limited the formation of LST as lower concentrations of VSCs were found in both MW and WW samples. In the latter matrix, neither MeSH nor DMDS were detected in the presence of CT, while only DMDS was found in WW+GSH, WW+SO₂+GSH and WW+CT+SO₂ samples at a concentration lower than the perception thresholds. Considering the antioxidants individually, the order of their effectiveness was CT ≥ GSH > SO₂ in WW under the adopted experimental conditions. The results indicate tannins as an effective enological tool for preventing LST in white wine and their use will be further investigated in different white wines under industrial scale.