Revisiting the mechanism responsible for the light-struck flavor in white wines and Champagnes

The mechanism responsible for the appearance of the light-struck fault upon exposure of white wines and Champagnes to natural or artificial light is examined in light of new experiments involving methionine analogues. The latter show that the formation of volatile sulfur species upon irradiation of riboflavin in the presence of methionine in model wine solutions at pH 3 is not dependent on the existence of neighboring group stabilization of the sulfur-centered cation radical through a 5- or 6-membered cyclic intermediate. Instead, the formation of a dimer radical cation is proposed in agreement with the formation of oxidation products such as dimethyl disulfide at early reaction times and the observed steric effect upon product distribution. The limiting quantum yield for the release of sulfur atoms from a solution of methionine in model wine solutions at pH 3.5 containing riboflavin was found to be 0.26 (435 nm irradiation). No dependence of the quantum yield or product distribution on the irradiation wavelength was found over the range 365-90 nm.