Chronological development of element concentrations in grapes during growth and ripeness and during fermentation of must determined by instrumental neutron-activation analyses

The chronological development of element concentrations during growth and ripeness of grapes described in the literature has only been concerned with the macro elements Mg, K, and Ca. Concentrations of trace elements in must are only described as a snapshot at the end of the ripeness. Therefore, the motivation for the present work was to accompany the growth and the ripening process of grapes successively by systematically determining element concentrations in grapes of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon by neutron-activation analyses. While for a number of elements, the concentrations in the grapes increased as a function of grape development ( e. g., Na, K, Rb, Al), other concentrations decreased ( e. g., Mg, Ca, Mn). These decreases are not only to be attributed to a dilution by an increasing uptake of water during growth, but also by an active transport of the cations out of the berries. Furthermore, the interest focused on the influence of mineral substances on the process of fermentation and on the uptake of trace elements by the yeasts.