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Wine
Wine aroma wheel good wheel link
What has flavouring got to do with wine? Wine lovers have described the distinctive tastes in the thousands of wine types. Wine researchers have identified the chemical nature of these notes and would you believe it these same chemicals are used in the flavour industry to make imitation flavours. So flavourists can learn from the wine makers and tasters.Because wine is such an important industry a lot of research is done on flavour contributors.
There is a distinct flavour note present in wines from the south island of New Zealand. This note is often described as gooseberry aroma, it is noted in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
At higher concentrations it can be described as tropical.
It has been identified as 4-mercapto-4-methyl-pentan-2-one, how we perceive this depends on its concentration.
Possible use in Passionfruit and Blackcurrant.
Passionfruit is another common discriptor of some wines. There are several key contributors to the passionfruit note one of which is rose oxide.
This is the most common off flavour attributed to a corked taste in wine. It has one of the lowest aroma thresholds
Vanillin is also an important aroma in red wines that have been stored in oak barrels. If you follow the links below you will find many very interesting aromas that have been identified in wine.
Brett ododur compounds in wine
Funky wine off odour chemistry
Screw Caps or Corks? Wine nowadays is made under strict scientific processes so there are fewer failed fermentations.
One problem with cask wine is extra SO2 which needs to be added to prevent oxidation as the casks unlike bottles let oxygen through. Oxygen changes the flavour but also oxidises the ethanol to acetaldenyde and acetic acid.
Acetaldehyde gives you a headache!
With corks you need to keep the cork wet with the wine to keep the seal and prevent this from happening. The glue used to make the cork can be a problem. You also need a cork screw and the cork can break.
With scew caps, there is not a problem.
http://www.newbordeaux.com/documents/44.html
Measuring the alcohol in wine using refractometer and SG
% Alcohol (vol/vol) = (1.646 * RBRIX) – (2.703 * (145 – 145/SG)) – 1.794
Where: RBRIX = ⁰Brix measured with a winemaking refractometer SG = specific gravity measured with a short-range hydrometer
Wine Pages, looks at aromas responsible for notes in wine
Wine Psychology Miles Thomas
Trace flavour components of grapes
The sherry-lactones and solerone. Their identification in dried figs
4-methoxy-2-methyl butane thiol ?
Gooseberries are not used in wine but a hint of gooseberry aroma is noted in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
The aroma chemical identified is also found in tropical flavours like Passionfruit.
May also be important in Blackcurrant.
It is concentration dependant at low levels it is gooseberry at higher levels it is tropical and at even higher levels it is blackcurrant and then there is the smell of Cats urine!!
Believe it or not, the unique character and flavor of New Zealand’s wine has captured the interest of wine connoisseurs everywhere. After the scientific team spent more than $12 million dollars defining the flavors of the country's most popular grape variety, they concluded that the winning combination was, hands down, a combination of sweet, sweaty passion fruit, asparagus and…cat pee!
The specially chosen panel was trained to distinguish between as many as 16 different flavors, some of which included canned and fresh asparagus, stone fruit, apple and snow peas. (It was not disclosed whether these scientists could differentiate different types of cat pee, if there is such a thing, that is).
The area whose white wine is the most drenched in cat pee seems to be a wine region near the capital of Wellington known as Wairarap. One winery, Cooper’s Creek, in keeping with the tradition of “if you can’t fight em, join em”, has changed the name of its Sauvignon Blanc to Cat’s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush.
Although it is said that the flavors are only found in moderation, that doesn’t help at all with the mental image of drinking cat’s pee (or even parts thereof).
Contribution of Volatile Thiols to the Aromas of White Wines Made From Several Vitis vinifera Grape Varieties
Takatoshi Tominaga 1, Raymonde Baltenweck-Guyot 2, Catherine Peyrot Des Gachons 1, and Denis Dubourdieu 1 1 Faculté d'
nologie, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, 351 cours de la libération, 33405 Talence Cedex
2 Faculté de Chimie, Université Louis Pasteur, 1 rue Blaise Pascal, 67008 Strasbourg.
Five volatile thiols previously identified in Sauvignon blancwines, 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-ol(4MMPOH), 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol (3MMB), 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH)and 3-mercaptohexyl acetate (A3MH) were found to be presentin wines made from several other white Vitis vinifera grapevarieties. An assay of these volatile thiols showed that concentrationsof 4MMP, 3MH, and A3MH were considerably higher than the perceptionthresholds in certain wines made from Gewürztraminer, Riesling,Colombard, Petit Manseng, and botrytized Semillon. The impactof volatile thiols on the aromas of wines made from these grapevarieties was investigated for the first time.
Key words: varietal aroma, volatile thiols, Vitis vinifera, Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Riesling, Sylvaner, Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Colombard, Petit manseng, botrytized Semillon
Submitted on August 31, 1999Revised on December 9, 1999
Enology-Grape Chemistry at Virginia Tech
The flavour of wine is wonderful and complex. The key odorants are due to aroma compounds with very low flavour thresholds. This makes them difficult to analyze as the compounds are present at parts per billionth, yet we can taste them and marvel at the complexity of nature.
Making your own wine good information
Wine aroma and flavour glucosides in wine
- Sugar Chemistry
- Development of Grape Sugar
- Taste Perception of Sugars in Wine
- Wine Chemistry
- Wine Production
Beta-damascenone is a terpenoid that possesses a honey- or baked apple-like flavor, and is found in many beverages such as beer, brandy, rum, whisky and wine. It is considered to be a significant compound to flavor, due to its very low sensory threshold (approximately 0.02–0.09 µg/L in water), and is reported to be useful as an analytical indicator of aging induced by storage temperatures and storage periods. We developed a new method of analyzing beta-damascenone in beer, using SPME with GC-MS. This new method allows highly sensitive, highly accurate, and easily repeatable analysis to be performed on trace amounts of beta-damascenone in beer, making it much simpler than previously published methods due to the use of smaller beer samples and easier sample preparation procedures. This new method can be an extremely effective tool for brewers assessing and investigating stale flavor in beer and during the brewing process.
Pepper Notes in some wines
Symrise Flavor and Nutrition Division.
The Australian Wine Research Institute.
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Abstract
An obscure sesquiterpene, rotundone, has been identified as a hitherto unrecognized important aroma impact compound with a strong spicy, peppercorn aroma. Excellent correlations were observed between the concentration of rotundone and the mean ‘black pepper’ aroma intensity rated by sensory panels for both grape and wine samples, indicating that rotundone is a major contributor to peppery characters in Shiraz grapes and wine (and to a lesser extent in wine of other varieties). Approximately 80% of a sensory panel were very sensitive to the aroma of rotundone (aroma detection threshold levels of 16 ng/L in red wine and 8 ng/L in water). Above these concentrations, these panelists described the spiked samples as more ‘peppery’ and ‘spicy’. However, approximately 20% of panelists could not detect this compound at the highest concentration tested (4000 ng/L), even in water. Thus, the sensory experiences of two consumers enjoying the same glass of Shiraz wine might be very different. Rotundone was found in much higher amounts in other common herbs and spices, especially black and white peppercorns, where it was present at 
10000 times the level found in very ‘peppery’ wine. Rotundone is the first compound found in black or white peppercorns that has a distinctive peppery aroma. Rotundone has an odor activity value in pepper on the order of 50000−250000 and is, on this criterion, by far the most powerful aroma compound yet found in that most important spice.
Sherry Lactone
This compound supplied by Givaudan gives a matured almost prune note to wine
| Recommended application | tea beverage flavours. |
| Recommended use level | 2 ppm |
| Organoleptic character | Caramel,A bit burnt |
| Appearance | Colourless to slight yellow liquid |
| Minimum purity | 97% |
| Natural status | Nature Identical |
| Kosher status | Parve |
| Used in fragrances | No |
5-hydroxy-4-hexanolide
Wine and taste theory sensory evaluation
The present and future of the international wine industry
Australian Wine Jacobs Creek
Flavor and Aroma Rise in Champagne Bubbles
A tiny bubble can do a lot of work. In the ocean, for example, rising air bubbles in the surf drag certain compounds to the surface. These compounds, called surfactants, have a water-loving end (which stays in the water) and a water-avoiding end (which stays inside the bubble); when the bubbles reach the surface and pop, the surfactants are released. The effect is to concentrate these compounds in the air in the vicinity of the surf.
A glass of Champagne, it turns out, is like a mini-ocean. When the cork is popped, bubbles of carbon dioxide form and rise to the surface. And a study by European researchers shows that these bubbles concentrate surfactants, many of which contribute to Champagne’s odor and flavor, in the air above the beverage.
Gérard Liger-Belair of the University of Reims (in the Champagne region of France, naturally), Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin of the German Research Center for Environmental Health and colleagues used extremely high-resolution mass spectrometry to analyze the differences between the Champagne in the glass and in the air just above it.
The researchers note in their paper, in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that Champagne potentially produces on the order of 100 million bubbles per bottle. Given an average bubble diameter of about one-fiftieth of an inch, that means there is a total of about 100 square yards of surface area separating the bubbles from the bubbly. That is a lot of area to harbor surfactants.
The researchers first used a scattershot approach that revealed potentially hundreds of compounds that were, essentially, being dragged out of the Champagne and becoming concentrated in the air above it. More discriminating analysis showed that several dozen of these compounds probably played a role in producing the beverage’s aroma or flavor.
The researchers suggest that Champagne bubbles act like an elevator, bringing aromatic compounds up out of the liquid and into the air above it. The effect continues over and over as bubbles continue to form.
30 November 2005
Screw caps are better than corks at preserving the fruity bouquet of sauvignon blanc wines, report researchers in New Zealand.
The team studied the composition of two-year old wines from the wine growing region of Marlborough. They compared bottles of wine that had been sealed either with corks or with screw caps. HPLC analysis revealed that levels of two volatile thiols with a fruity aroma - 3-mercaptohexyl acetate (with an aroma of passion fruit or box tree) and 3-mercaptohexanol (with a fruity aroma, particularly of grapefruit) - were up to 23 per cent lower in cork-stoppered bottles.
Corks and screw caps appeared equally successful at preventing oxygen ingress, and the researchers suspect that the cork may have absorbed some of the volatiles during storage. A panel of 12 trained wine tasters failed to pick up any significant differences in the wines but identified more passion fruit notes in wines with higher thiol concentrations.
New Zealand's sauvignon blanc is noted for its 'powerful tropical fruit aroma harmoniously mixed with grassy vegetal aromas,' said lead researcher Laura Nicolau at the University of Auckland. The thiols, which contribute to the tropical aroma, are very susceptible to oxidation, Nicolau added. Which explains why sauvignon blanc can lose its fruity character after one or two years.
The news that corks could affect a wine's aroma came as no surprise to UK wine journalist Malcolm Gluck. 'Corks are notoriously inept at retaining real fruit characters compared with screw caps,' Gluck told Chemistry World.
Gluck stressed the importance of retaining the 'tropicality' of a new world sauvignon blanc. The wine is supposed to be drunk young, he said, but the arrival of screw caps might mean wines can be kept longer.
He once drank a Czech sauvignon blanc bottled in 1947. 'The maker had walled much of his wine up, not to conceal it from the Nazis, who had been recent occupants, but from the Russians who were poised to take over,' recalled Gluck. 'He was wise. The wine was drinkable but extremely quaint, and the cork had lignified so the immediate fruit character had been unusually retained. It lasted ten minutes in the glass.'
Nicolau's team in Auckland plans to identify how significant the differences in thiol concentrations need to be before a panel of tasters can distinguish them. The researchers are also trying to understand exactly how the compounds contribute to the sauvignon blanc bouquet and are studying the long-term stability of those compounds. Emma Davies
References
M Brajkovich et al, J Agric Food Chem(DOI: 10.1021/jf0512813)
Tips on tasting wine: Colour, aroma, palate
Posted by Scott Comyns for Wine Lovers - Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:29
For the novice palate, and lets face it the majority of us do not have the luxury of putting their nose into a glass of wine every day as part of their job, here are some simple tips on how taste wine.
Colour
First, check the colour. Is it cloudy and dull or is it vibrant, clear and sparkling? A wine fault can easily be spotted simply by looking at the colour of the wine and ensuring it is vibrant.
Next, check that the wine colour is right for the age. A young wine, less than a few years old, shouldn’t be too yellow / golden in colour (for white wines) or garnet / brown (for red wines).
Aroma
Give the glass a swirl to release the aromas and stick your nose in the glass. Smell receptors are in the top of your nose so it’s important to sniff quite hard to make sure you reach them.
A few obvious wine faults to look out for are if the wine smells like;
- Wet hessian or wet cardboard - the wine is “corked” and bacteria from the cork has spoiled the wine (less common now that we have so many wines under screwcap of course)
- Smells like vinegar - the wine is volatile and has been affected by a yeast or bacteria that has caused a high level of acetic acid
- Rotten eggs or sulphur - the wine has had too much sulphur dioxide added at bottling. This may dissipate and leave a perfectly fine tasting wine
Other than wine faults, take notice of any other characters that you can smell such as fruit flavours. Are they tropical fruit flavours? Berry fruits? Citrus? These will help to determine what variety the wine is.
Palate
Finally, taste the wine! Take a generous sip and before swallowing or spitting the wine, take a moment to notice where you are experiencing the wines flavours; sweetness is apparent on the tip of your tongue, salt on the sides, but at the front of the tongue, sour on the sides towards the back and bitterness at the back of your tongue.
One of the most common faults to look out for, particularly when buying wine by the glass, is oxidisation. If the wine smells or tastes dull or stale with no fruit flavours or the colour looks developed, it has probably been open too long – for more than a day or two at most, depending on how much wine is left in the bottle.
Pay attention to the persistence of flavour, how long the flavours last in your mouth after you have swallowed it – the longer it lasts, the better.
Recommendations for the week
2010 Tempus Two Pewter Pinot Gris – aromas of fresh pears and green apples. Perfect with fish or pork dishes for Easter.
2009 Gundog Estate Shiraz - a floral delicate Shiraz from the Canberra district. Great to drink on its own or pair it with some lighter meat dishes such as lamb, duck or chicken.
Cheers, Scott
Scott Comyns
Tempus Two Head Winemaker
www.tempustwo.com.au
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What can you smell?
Together with 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol and 3-mercaptohexyl acetate, already known to contribute to the aroma of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol and 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl acetate have been identified for the first time in this fruit
The flavour of Yellow and Purple Passionfruit
Some odors of Wines
4-mercapto-4- methylpentan-2-one
ethyl octanoate
ethyl hexanoate
3-methylbutyl acetate
ethyl isobutyrate
(E)-b-damascenone
linalool
cis-rose oxide
wine lactone
ethyl butyrate
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