Flavanols are an important class of natural products occurring in almost all plants, fruits and vegetables; they have a great influence on wine ageing potential, astringency, colour stability and biological activities. In wine, flavanols react with sulfur dioxide (SO 2), the most widely used preservative in oenology, leading to sulfonated products. Here we report a kinetic investigation, through LC-MS quantitative measurements carried out at different pH (3 and 4) and temperature values (23, 30, 40, 50 and 60 • C), of the reaction products obtained by SO 2 addition to both monomeric (epicatechin and catechin) and dimeric flavanols (procyanidin B2 and procyanidin B3). The results proved that: (a) the major sulfonation route that leads quickly and in good yields to monomeric 4 β-sulfonated derivatives passes through the acid-catalysed depolymerisation of proanthocyanidins; (b) monomeric flavanols lead to the same 4 β-sulfonated products, although in a considerably slower manner, and also to other sulfonated regioisomers; (c) the kinetic data in our hands, in particular the temperature dependence of the observed rates, suggest the involvement of two completely different reaction mechanisms for the SO 2 addition to dimeric and monomeric flavanol substrates; (d) direct sulfonation of epicatechin is slightly faster than that of catechin. Flavanols are among the most important groups of secondary metabolites, due to their ubiquity, biological activities, nutritional value and food quality impact. They include the monomeric epicatechin (1), catechin (2), gallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, catechin gallate, oligomeric procyanidins (e.g. procyanidin B2 (3) and procyanidin B3 (4)), prodelphinidins, and polymeric proanthocyanins (Fig. 1). Condensed tannins are defined as oligomeric/polymeric flavanols with mass higher than 500 Dalton 1. This group of secondary metabolites is found in most of the plants, fruits, vegetables and beverages, and so every day we intake huge amounts of them by consuming wine, tea, cocoa, coffee, chocolate, berries, apples, nuts, dry fruits, mint, basil, etc. 2-4. The first scientific works about tannins were focused on their utility in the leather industry 1,5,6 , but today they are known and worldwide studied for their role in (a) human health 3,7,8 , (b) plant physiology and defence 2,9 and (c) contribution to sensorial character of food, due to their astringent and bitter taste, or their ability to stabilise wine red colour 10-14. Their properties depend on their chemical structure, such as degree of polymerisation, Bring hydroxylation and C-ring configuration 15-20. Centuries ago, the addition of SO 2 to a tannin extract was a key process in order to obtain better quality material for leather manufacturing 21. Today, SO 2 (E220) addition is permitted and regularly used in a wide range of food including wine, dried fruits and meat products, because of its preservative effects 22. However, SO 2 and sulfites are among the food allergens and the added doses are subject to legal limits 23,24. ...