FT-IR Physico-Chemical Parameters and GC-MS Polar Metabolite Fingerprints Discriminate Carignano and Cannonau DOC Wines

To protect wine authenticity and quality, two Sardinian red wines, Carignano del Sulcis and Cannonau di Sardegna, were characterized using an FT-IR and untargeted GC–MS integrated approach. FT-IR-derived oenological parameters, together with GC–MS profiles of polar low-molecular-weight metabolites, were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. Compared with Cannonau, Carignano exhibited higher color intensity, greater density, and higher contents of glucose, lactic acid, and malic acid. Discriminant analysis of GC-MS data revealed that Carignano was characterized by uronic acids and arabitol, suggesting possible exposure to Botrytis. In contrast, Cannonau was characterized by 2,3 butanediol and ethyl-tartrate, indicating more pronounced yeast fermentative activity, consistent with the lower residual glucose content measured by FT-IR. Classification analysis demonstrated that the different wineries exert significant influence on the final characteristics of the wine. Overall, the findings demonstrated the effectiveness of this integrated analytical approach as a promising tool for wine authentication.