Aroma profile of ‘Pedro Ximenez’ sweet musts obtained from dried grapes by different methods

Abstract

Aroma fraction of musts from grapes ‘Pedro Ximenez’ traditionally sun-dried and chamber-dried at 40 ºC and at 50 ºCduring 8, 5 and 4 days respectively, destined for the production of sweet wines in Montilla-Moriles region (southern Spain) was studied. The OAVs of the 30 analyzed compounds were grouped according to their similar descriptors into 9 odorant terms (caramelized, floral, fresh, lactic, chemical, pungent, spicy, tree fruit, and tropical fruit). The ANOVA at 95 % of significance performed on the above terms distinguished between musts from dried and non-dried (control) grapes. Only the caramelized and floral terms were different for the three drying methods. The remainder terms (excepted lactic) were not distinguishable between the musts from two chamber- dried grapes. The OAVs of the terms were subjected to principal component analysis. PC1 and PC2 were found to account for 92.0 % of the total variance (63.1 % and 28.9 %, respectively). The scores on PC1 could suggest that the musts from dried-chamber grapes at 40 ºC exhibited better aroma characteristics that the remaining ones. In this sense, the controlled drying process at 40 ºC could improve the winemaking process of Pedro Ximenez sweet wines.