VOLATILE, PHENOLIC AND COLORIMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THREE DIFFERENT LAMBRUSCO APPELLATIONS

Taints and off-flavours are one of the major concerns in the wine industry and even if the issues provoked by them are harmless, they can still have a negative impact on the quality or on the visual perception of the consumer. Nowadays, the frequency of occurrence of mousy off-flavours in wines has increased.
The reasons behind this could be the significant decrease in sulphur dioxide addition during processing, the increase in pH or even the trend for spontaneous fermentation in wine. This off-flavour is associated with Brettanomyces bruxellensis or some lactic acid bacteria metabolisms.

In 2020, 12% of all bottled German wines were aromatized, which may increase further due to rising popularity of dealcoholized wines. As sealing polymers of a bottling line absorb aroma compounds and may release them into regular wines in the next filling¹, this unintentional carry-over bears the risk to violate the legal ban of any aromatization of regular wine. However, following EU legislation, German food control authorities accept a technical unavoidable transfer of aroma compounds, if this is of no sensory significance.

The wine industry worldwide faces more and more challenges due to climate change, such as increased dryness in some areas, water stress, sunburn and early harvesting during hot summer temperatures¹. One of the resulting problems for the wine quality might be a higher prevalence of the untypical aging off-flavor (ATA)². A substance, which Rapp and Versini made responsible for ATA, is the 2-aminoace-tophenone (2-AAP)³. 2-AAP in wine causes a naphthalene, wet towels, wet wool, acacia flower or just a soapy note⁴.

With the development of naturality expectations, wines produced without any addition of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) become very popular for consumers and such wines are increasingly present on the market. Recent studies also showed that Bordeaux red wines without added SO₂ could be differentiated from a sensory point of view from similar wines produced with SO₂¹. Thus, the aim of the current study was to characterize from a sensory point of view, specific aromas of wines without added SO₂ and to identify compounds involved.

Kalecik Karası is a domestic grape variety of Turkey, originating from Kalecik district, 80 km from Ankara. Although there is no definite evidence, it is known that it was used in wine production by many civilizations that lived in the Anatolian region, especially the Hittites. Compared to other black wine grapes, it stands out with its low tannin content, rich fruity aroma and complex structure. In good vintages, red fruits such as strawberries, cherries and raspberries stand out in the aroma profile. Although its structure is elegant, it has the potential to age and develop similar to the ‘Pinot Noir’ wine of the Burgundy region. This offers a complex aroma structure including red flowers, earth and ripe fruits.