Old Vines Have New Meaning
Wines made from old vines have a more powerful phenolic structure, greater aromatic complexity, and more intensity with respect to expressing the characteristics of the vineyards they were sourced from.
All posts tagged: sensory
Senses Perform Better Holistically, Not in Isolation
Professionals who consider detecting and identifying aromas part of their stock in trade would be far more confident about their abilities if they had a better understanding of how the senses work together to interpret aromas.
Conquer wine headaches
Thanks to new research about quercetin, the list of culprits in wine falls into three primary categories: tannins, biogenic amines (BAs), and alcohol.
Aphantasia, revealing the Blind Mind’s Eye
Anywhere from 1% to 4% of the population is affected by aphantasia, meaning their mind’s eye is effectively blind.
The Science of Bubbles
Bubbles are the hallmark of all sparkling wines, and they play a significant role in the cachet that surrounds this category. Even the terms “bubbles,” “mousse,” and “Champagne” elicit a pleasurable response in expert and novice consumers alike.
Hidden compounds: the secret to aromatic complexity
Of the more than 1,000 compounds that make up wine’s aromatic profile, desirable aromas are represented by a combination of 82 different volatile compounds, only some of which are detectable when present above threshold.
Making scents of wine aromas
A wine’s scent is one of the best indications of its quality. The hedonic effects of wine are influenced by hundreds of volatile aroma compounds, making it one of the most complex of food and
beverage products.
Reproducing Kopke’s 50-year old Tawny Port
With the creation of a new Tawny Port and White Port categories in March 2022, bottles sporting a 50-year age statement on their labels began to make their debut in January 2023. Prior to the new ruling, cask-matured Tawny and White Ports were categorized as ten, 20, 30, or over 40 years of age; at 50 years, the wines were simply categorized as Very Old. Fifty is the average age of the rare wood-aged Ports from several vintages comprising these blends. In the case of Tawny, one key sensory aspect is the absence of aromas and flavors associated with new oak, which it is never aged in. Kopke, the oldest of Portugal’s Port houses, was established in 1638and possesses one of the deepest inventories of aged Tawnies in theDouro Valley. Along with a handful of other producers, including Messias, Sandeman, Taylor, Quinta do Mourão, and Quinta do Vallado, it has now released a 50-year-old bottling. In honor of the launch, Kopke master blender Carla Tiago led a blendingexercise hosted by Skurnik Wines & Spirits at …
Wine aromas promote relaxation
Wine aromas are t work when we pour a glass of grassy Sauvignon Blanc and feel a deep sense of relief.
Decoding the Origins of Wine Aromas
Researchers have identified compounds responsible for coconut and dried fruit aromas in red grape must and new wine.
Flavor-tripping with the miracle fruit Asaba
As a species, we’ve been eating and drinking to intentionally alter our states of perception ever since. For generations, the indigenous peoples of the Congo, Nigeria, and Ghana have used the fruit (and leaves) of Synsepalum dulcificum, a shrub indigenous to West
and Central Africa, in ethnomedicine. The taste-altering properties of this flavorless, bright-red berry—dubbed “the miracle fruit,” it’s about the size of a coffee bean—make for a fascinating sensory experience.
Thinking in Smell
Of the five senses, smell in Western culture has gotten a bad rap. In the English language there are fewer positive equivalents for the sense of smell than there are for the other four senses. You might sniff out a deal or smell a rat but the terms for nose in our vocabulary particularly as they relate to wine are more often than not derogatory (snobby, snooty, snotty, etc.).
Big data supports expert wine tasters
In the course of developing software for predicting consumer wine preferences, a Houston-based start up, VineSleuth, shed new light on the abilities of expert wine tasters and the validity of blind tasting assessments. Contrary to popular belief, the company’s VineSleuth metrics, which are based on the work of Chief Science Officer Michael Tompkins and his team, reveal that tasters can consistently identify aroma and flavor characteristics in blind wine evaluations. “We have extensive experimental data which support that expert evaluators have the capacity to precisely identify wine characteristics in blind repeat samples,” said Tompkins whose work spans thirteen years in the field of numerical methods. “During the course of our experiments, our vetted evaluators repeat sample characteristics about 90% of the time,” he says. VineSleuth’s data directly confronts the popular misconception that consistent sensory evaluation of wine is a random occurrence. In developing an algorithm designed to help consumers make wine selections based on personal preference, the company has established a benchmark based on the results of its top-performing tasters (including this author) and intends …
The trilemma of primary, secondary and tertiary aromas
Primary wine flavors (the combination of aromas and tastes) come from the grape variety itself and are almost always fruity except when they’re not. Secondary aromas are those associated with post-fermentation winemaking and include yeast, lees, yogurt, cream, butter or cheese and a full spectrum of flavors derived from oak. Tertiary flavors are defined as deliberate oxidation, fruit development, bottle age or any combination thereof.
Riedel celebrates 260 years of glassware expertise
There’s no question that glassware can alter our perceptions of wine. It’s a phenomenon experienced by every resourceful consumer who has pressed a plastic cup into service when a wineglass wasn’t close. While the proliferation of shapes intended to complement or enhance specific wines has been met with skepticism from certain corners, without empirical evidence to the contrary, simply increasing the measure of enjoyment that’s obtained from a glass of wine has validated the practice and the efforts of Austrian glassware maker Riedel. Science has already provided empirical evidence that makes a case for the superiority of wine glasses for the appreciation of wine. Using a thermal imaging technique, Japanese researchers have captured pictures of ethanol vapors volatizing from a wine glass in a ring-shaped pattern, with the area of lowest alcohol in the center. This “donut hole” effect allows for greater appreciation of volatile aroma compounds without the added interference from ethanol. When wine was tested from a Martini or straight glass it didn’t exhibit a ring shaped-vapor pattern, proof enough that wine glasses …
Are sensory descriptors a tasting room turn-off?
A Cornell University study suggests that including sensory descriptors on tasting sheets can reduce sales in the tasting room. Contrary to popular belief – and the results of previous wine and food studies – including sensory descriptors in tasting room collateral materials may not increase wine sales. Spurred by the lack of research available about the effect sensory descriptors have on consumer choice when used in conjunction with product samples, researchers at Cornell University looked to winery tasting rooms in New York for answers. According to Miguel I. Gómez, the Ruth and William Morgan Assistant Professor at Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, who conducted the study in conjunction with graduate student Marin Shapiro, “The study has raised the issue with tasting room managers that certain kinds of information may work better than others.” Gómez has presented the work before industry and business audiences on the East Coast and noted that tasting room managers there have begun experimenting with their tasting notes to see what effect those modifications have on sales. The study, …