Resumen: Bentonite fining is the most common process used in the wine industry to remove proteins from wine. Herein, the influence of fermentative and post-fermentative fining on aroma compounds found in Sauvignon blanc wines was studied. Sauvignon blanc musts from different vintages were fined using bentonite. Conventional enological parameters, together with more than 60 volatile compounds, including varietal thiols, were determined in the bottled wines. The results showed that bentonite fining was more effective in removing proteins from wine when carried out on finished wines. Several volatile compounds were influenced by bentonite fining depending on the timing of addition and the vintage. Varietal thiols, key compounds of Sauvignon blanc wine aroma, were significantly reduced when the wines were fined with bentonite, particularly when fining took place during fermentation. Results suggest that bentonite fining of musts could damage the organoleptic quality and varietal character of Sauvignon blanc wines because of its impact on polyfunctional mercaptans. Idioma: Inglés DOI: 10.5344/ajev.2016.16052 Año: 2017 Publicado en: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ENOLOGY AND VITICULTURE 68, 1 (2017), 30-38 ISSN: 0002-9254 Factor impacto JCR: 1.765 (2017) Categ. JCR: HORTICULTURE rank: 7 / 36 = 0.194 (2017) - Q1 - T1 Categ. JCR: BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY rank: 102 / 160 = 0.637 (2017) - Q3 - T2 Categ. JCR: FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY rank: 67 / 133 = 0.504 (2017) - Q3 - T2 Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.956 - Horticulture (Q1) - Food Science (Q1)