The Impact of Type of Brandy on the Volatile Aroma Compounds and Sensory Properties of Grape Brandy in Montenegro.

This paper presents the results of a study that examined the impact of grape variety on the volatile aroma compounds and sensory properties of standard and Muscat grape brandy produced in the Podgorica sub-region (Montenegro) in vintages 2011, 2012, and 2013. The brandies were prepared by the distillation of crushed grapes, from the autochthonous varieties of Vranac and Kratosija, and Muscat grapes, in a traditional copper alembic, under the same conditions. The gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC/MS) method of 82 volatile aroma compounds that belong to the group (alcohols, volatile acids, volatile esters, terpenes, volatile aldehydes, acetals, ethers, ketones, and alkanes) and an evaluation of the sensory properties of brandies were carried out to determine the typical characteristics of the examined brandies. Alcohols, fatty acid esters, and terpene compound contents were significantly more abundant in all Muscat grape brandies compared to the brandies from the Vranac and Kratosija wine varieties (Standard brandy). Research results revealed that variety had a significant impact on the volatile aroma compound and sensory properties of brandy. The varietal effect was also confirmed, by multivariate analysis, based on the aroma volatile composition, which showed a grouping by type of grape brandy (varietal origin). Sensory analyses showed that all the brandies belonged to the category of high-quality brandies.

Radioactivity in Montenegro beach sands and assessment of the corresponding environmental risk.

Activity concentrations of the naturally occurring radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th, (40)K and anthropogenic (137)Cs in sand samples collected from 20 renowned beaches on the Coast of Montenegro have been determined using an HPGe (high purity Ge spectrometer). The average activity concentrations were found to be 7.4, 5.2, 97.3 and 0.5 Bq kg(-1), respectively. For all sand samples, the radium equivalent activity has been evaluated and found to be lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg(-1). External and internal hazard indices were less than unity. The gonadal dose equivalent was estimated to be on average 75 µSv y(-1), which is about four times lower than the global average for soil (0.3 mSv y(-1)). Calculated values of absorbed dose rates showed the range from 3.1 to 28 nGy h(-1), which is below the world median of average values (57 nGy h(-1)). The effective dose rate in the range from 3.8 to 34.4 µSv y(-1) was significantly below the recommended limit value for the public (1 mSv y(-1)). The highest dose rate was found for the Velika Plaza locality, which also showed heavy metal contents (As, B, Cd, Hg, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn and Ba) significantly higher than in the sand from Jaz, a locality with one of the lowest dose rates.