Wine is very common in our lives. Many people love to drink, and “wine is not afraid of the alley,” so why will wine have an aroma? Do you know, today, with uHPLCs to see why wine is fragrant?
The purpose of studying wine flavor is to clarify the chemical nature of wine and to solve the problem of poor batch stability of product flavor quality caused by the complexity of the solid-state brewing process. The traditional approach is first to analyze the volatile components and the key aroma active ingredients that contribute to the flavor of wine through flavouromics techniques and then to study their microbial metabolic pathways to stabilize the content and ratios of key aroma active ingredients through the regulation of the brewing process (mainly the fermentation process) to achieve consistent flavor quality.
Advanced analytical instruments such as gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-smell, and full two-dimensional gas-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) are gradually being used to study the flavor components of wine, bringing the analysis of the flavor of these products into the “human-machine” era of molecular sensory genomics 3.0.
Today we will look at the substances that contribute to the aroma of flavored wines and spirits.
We can divide the flavors of wine into three main categories: fruity, spicy, and earthy.
Fruity (fruity/floral/herbal)
1. Esters – fruity and floral
Esters are also common in everyday life, you can find them in everything from essential oils to sweets, and most of the various acids in wine are also esters.
In wine, esters are a major component of the fruit flavor. Chardonnay wines tend to have an apple flavor, while raspberry flavors are often found in wines such as Grenache.
2. Pyrazines – Herbal Flavours
Pyrazines have a vegetable-like flavor and are the basic components of sweet and savory flavors such as chocolate and coffee.
In wine, pyrazines are the main component of herbal flavors. Cabernet Franc and Carmenere have a peppery green flavor, while Sauvignon Blanc has a typical herbaceous aroma.
3. Terpenes – rose and lavender scent
Christmas tree and sage flavors are typical of terpenes. These flavors may be sweet and floral or resinous and herbal in wine. In addition, terpene flavors are typical of fine beers.
Lychee rose, and lavender flavors are all terpene flavors. These include lychee in Gewurztraminer, rosé in Muscat Blanc, lavender in Grenache and Cote du Rhone, and eucalyptus in Australian Shiraz.
4. Mercaptans – grapefruit and blackcurrant flavors
Thiols are organic sulfides that, in small amounts, have a fruity aroma but, in excess, can be as pungent as garlic and are therefore considered a defective wine aroma. Thiols are also an embodiment of earthiness in wine.
Grapefruit notes are often found in wines such as Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc, and Colombard; blackcurrant notes are found in red Bordeaux wines and other red wines dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
Spice Flavours
5. Salvianolone – peppery
Salvianolone is also a terpene commonly found in various essential oils such as black pepper, rosemary, thyme, and basil.
Many fine red wines may have a typical peppery flavor. For example, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Gruner Veltliner may have a peppery flavor; basil notes often accompany dry Riesling whites, Viognier, and Gewürztraminer may have a red peppery flavor.
6. Lactones – vanilla and coconut flavors
Lactone aromas are a type of ester compound found in many creamy foods such as honey wheat bread, peaches, coconut, roasted hazelnuts, butter, and braised pork chops.
For wines, both red and white wines that have been aged in oak barrels tend to have vanilla and coconut notes, while aged sparkling wines tend to have nutty notes.
7. Mercaptans – smoky and chocolatey
The mercaptans are somewhat delicious grapefruit and passionfruit, but at high levels, they take on smoky, skunk, tar, and chocolate notes on the palate and the nose.
Sonoma Pinot Noir tends to have a coffee note, while Argentine Malbec tends to have a light chocolate note.
Noble rot mold – honeyed and gingery. Of course, noble rot mold or noble rot bacteria do not count as chemicals, but honeyedness is an important sweetness that should not be left out.
Noble Rot (Botrytis/Noble Rot) is a fungus that specializes in eating ripe fruit or vegetables. Although its presence no longer guarantees the freshness of flavor, it adds intensity and complexity.
Among the various types of wine, Sauternes and Tokaji tend to have a marmalade flavor, while Spatlese Riesling tends to have a ginger flavor.
Earthiness
8. Sulphide – mineral notes
Sulfides may be associated with mineral notes in the wine. For example, Chablis’s chalky earth-like flavor is an expression of sulfides. However, not all sulfides are as wonderful as the flavors in Chablis, sometimes displaying wet wool, so this is also considered a defective aroma in the wine.
Chablis and Champagne tend to be accompanied by a chalky, earthy flavor; while young, newly opened red wines tend to have a metallic flavor.
9. Volatile acids – balsamic and pickle notes
Volatile acids are produced during the fermentation process of wine. High concentrations of volatile acids can be unpleasantly strong, but low concentrations add complexity to the wine and are one of the characteristics of fine wines.
Balsamic notes are often found in Chianti and Amarone Della Valpolicella wines, whereas pickle notes are mainly found in red Burgundy wines.
10. Wine yeasts – clove and bacon flavors
Phenolic compounds are found in many foods, such as sesame seeds, pepper, and cannabis. In wine, botrytis, a type of phenolic yeast, may give wines pleasant flavors, such as clove and bacon, or unpleasant ones, such as stable.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône wines often have a clove flavour. In contrast, Syrah wines from Paso Robles and the Central Coast in California and the Barossa Valley in Australia often have a bacon flavor.
11. Earthy vegetal – earthy and mushroomy
Earthy vegetation is an organic compound produced by a bacterium that gives off an earthy and mushroom-like flavor, which resembles a beetroot flavor.
The earthy and mushroomy flavors are often found in Old World-style wines.
Baijiu is made from grains and cereals and is produced by cooking, saccharification, fermentation, distillation, aging, and blending, using large, small, or bran currents as the saccharifying fermenting agent. According to the flavor characteristics of liquor, there are 12 main types of liquor, including sauce, strong, clear, rice, phoenix, medicinal, part-time, special, sesame, fulvous, old white dry, and black bean spiced liquor.
Jammy spiced liquor
Represented by Moutai and Langjiu, the sauce fragrance type of liquor is characterized by its prominent sauce aroma, elegant and delicate character, mellow body, and long aftertaste. Phenolic compounds, mainly tetramethylpyrazine, clove acid, and a small number of amino acids and esters, are responsible for the rich aroma, with tetramethylpyrazine content reaching 3000-5000 mg/L.
Tetramethylpyrazine
Syringic acid
Strong spiced liquor
The strong fragrance type of liquor is represented by Luzhou Laojiao and Wuliangye, the main liquor produced in Yibin, the destination of Mr. Ah Huang’s National Day tour, and Luzhou next door. A strong cellar aroma, sweetness and sweetness, harmonious aromas, and a long, clean finish characterize the strong fragrance type of wine. The compounds that contribute to the excellent taste and aroma are mainly hexanoic ethyl acid and ethyl lactate, in addition to acetic acid and ethyl butyrate, to balance the aroma and taste.
Ethylhexanoic acid
Ethyl lactate
Clear Spiced White Wine
The Qingxiang type of liquor is represented by Fenjiu and Erpotou, characterized by a pure aroma, harmonious flavors, a mellow sweetness, and a clean finish. The main compounds responsible for the mild sweetness and refreshing aftertaste are ethyl acetate and a large amount of ethyl lactate.
Ethyl acetate
Ethyl lactate
The above three types of liquor represent the flavor profile and account for around 60-70% of the domestic liquor market. In addition to these three categories, there are also various types of liquor with different flavor profiles resulting from different processes in different parts of the country, which can be divided into nine sub-categories.
Part-fragranced white wine
A representative of the part-fragrance type of white wine is Baiyunbian, which has a flavor profile that lies between the strong-fragrance type and the sauce type. The main compounds that bring out its flavor characteristics are heptanoic acid, ethyl heptanoate, isoamyl acetate, 2-octane, isobutyric acid, and butyric acid.
Ethyl heptanoate
Isoamyl acetate
Fenghuang Spirits
A representative of the Fengxiang type of liquor is Xifeng Liquor, characterized by its sweet mouthfeel and elegant aftertaste. The main compounds that contribute to the flavor profile of this type of wine are ethyl acetate and ethyl caproate.
Ethyl acetate
Ethyl caproate
Rice-flavored liquor
A representative of the rice-flavored type of liquor is Guilin Sanhua, characterized by a soft sweetness and a refreshing aftertaste. The main compounds contributing to this type of wine’s flavor profile are phenyl ethanol, ethyl acetate, and ethyl lactate.
β-Phenylethanol
Ethyl lactate
Dong Aromatic Spirits
The Dong fragrance type of liquor is represented by Dong wine, characterized by a moderately sweet and sour aroma and a long aftertaste due to adding some medicinal spices. It is characterized by the addition of acids, alcohols, and ethyl butyrate and by the fact that the total amount of acids and alcohols in this type of liquor is higher than that of the esters.
Ethyl butyrate
Sesame-flavored spirits
A representative of the sesame-flavored spirits is Jingzhi Bai Gan, characterized by the aroma of roasted sesame seeds in the mouth and the characteristic compounds that contribute to its flavor, ethyl caproate, and ethyl caprylate.
Ethyl caprylate
Special Aromatic Spirits
A representative of the Special Aroma type of spirits is the Four Special Spirits, characterized by a strong and light flavor and rich in various odd-carbon fatty acid ethyl esters, far more than any other type of spirit. The compounds that contribute to its flavor profile are ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, ethyl heptanoate, and ethyl nominate.
Ethyl propionate
Soybeans
A representative of the black bean aroma type is Yubing Shochu, which is characterized by a rice-based aroma with a fresh flavor and a clean, crisp aftertaste. The main compounds contributing to the flavor are phenyl ethyl alcohol and diethyl heptanoate, diethyl octanedioate, and diethyl noncandidate.
Diethylheptanedioate
Old Bai Gan Aromatic White Wine
A representative of the Old Bai Gan aromatic liquor is Hengshui Old Bai Gan, characterized by its soft, mellow, and full-bodied taste. The representative ester compounds in the wine are ethyl acetate, ethyl lactate, and small amounts of ethyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl palmitate, and ethyl linoleate.
Ethyl palmitate
Ethyl linoleate
Aromatic liquor
A representative of the aromatic spirits category is Jiu Gejiu, characterized by its rich aroma, sweetness in the mouth, fullness, and long aftertaste. The main compounds contributing to the flavor are ethyl acetate, ethyl caproate, and ethyl lactate in nearly equal amounts.
uHPLCs can’t believe there are so many odd flavors! Hope you find it useful!
Post time: Dec-26-2022
