Wine Chemistry and Biochemistry

Chapter 8E

Identification of Impact Odorants of Wines

Vicente Ferreira and Juan Cacho

Contents

8E.1 AGeneralFramework forWineAromaAnalysis ............................... 393
8E.2 ScreeningforAromaImpactMolecules ....................................... 395
8E.2.1 SignalRecordingandProcessing inGC-Olfactometry.................... 397
8E.2.2 PreparationofExtractsforGC-Olfactometry ........................... 400
8E.3 Techniques for Further Isolation and Identification of Aroma Compounds.... ...... 403
8E.4 Quantitative Determination of Wine Active Odorants...................... ...... 406
8E.5 AssessmentoftheSensoryRolePlayedbytheDifferentOdorants................. 407
References ............................................................... 410

8E.1 A General Framework for Wine Aroma Analysis

The aroma of wine is one of the most complex existing in nature for a number of

reasons. The first is because there are many different wines showing quite different

aromas, the second because the aromas of even a single wine change with time,

while it is stored in the bottle and while it is waiting in the glass to be consumed.

Finally, because in most cases wines do not have a simple characteristic aroma;

rather they have a palette of subtle aromas which are very difficult to define and

which surely are perceived differently by the different people.

Such sensorial complexity is, of course, caused by the chemical complexity of
wine aroma as is detailed below.

1. To begin with, and in spite of the title of the chapter, most wines do not have

genuine impact compounds; rather they contain a relatively large number of

active-odorants that contribute to a larger or smaller extent to the different aroma

nuances of wine. A genuine aroma impact compound is a molecule that is

able to transmit entirely its sensory descriptors to a product, to the point that

V. Ferreira (B)
Laboratory for Flavor Analysis and Enology, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of
Sciences, University of Zaragoza. 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
e-mail: [email protected]

M.V. Moreno-Arribas, M.C. Polo (eds.),Wine Chemistry and Biochemistry,
DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-74118-515,©CSpringer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009

393