Perception, liking and emotional response of tropical fruit aromas in Chardonnay wines

Abstract

Tropical fruit aromas in wines are thought to be important to wine consumers, although there is little research to confirm this statement. With so many wine styles available, it has become important to understand the qualities that are desirable to consumers and how to achieve those qualities. Thiols and esters are compounds that have been found to cause tropical fruit aromas in chardonnay (ref). Fermentation temperature gradients and skin contact were found to increase these compounds using micro scale fermentations. This work aimed to scale up these fermentations/operations to determine if the desired tropical fruit aromas could still be achieved and if there is a perceivable difference in tropical fruit aromas, liking, and emotional response in the wines at the consumer level. Four treatments were tested at varying fermentation temperature gradients and skin contact times: control (SC0FG0), skin contact (SC1FG0), no skin contact fermentation gradient (SC0FG1), skin contact fermentation gradient (SC1FG1). Chemical analysis and descriptive sensory analysis were conducted to determine the alterations on the composition and aroma profiles of these wines. Check-all-that-apply (CATA) showed different prominent aromas for each wine treatment, with pome fruit, stone fruit, pineapple, honeysuckle, honey, and passionfruit being the most perceived aromas. Descriptive analysis (DA) showed that SC1FG0 was significantly different from both SC0FG1 and SC1FG1. SC1FG0 presented the most tropical fruit aromas, SC1FG1 presented more stone fruit, and SC0FG1 presented more honey and lemon/lime. Liking at the consumer level showed two liking clusters while emotional response showed a significant difference with wines with tropical fruit and other fruity aromas associated with positive emotions. Combining these descriptive and emotional sensory results can be used to help guide winemaker decisions when trying to achieve consistent tropical fruit aromas in chardonnay wines.