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White Wine Flavour Compounds

Sietze Wijma

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Sietze Wijma

The Art of Tasting

MSc Sensory Science

WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines

Advanced Cicerone®

White Wine Flavour Compounds

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  • My first wine job�

​

Wine flavour compounds

Introduction

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Heptan-2-one

Hex-cis-3-enol

Linalool

Limonene

3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine

Phenylacetaldehyde

Furfural

2-Pentylfuran

Hept-trans-3-en-2-one

Hex-trans-2-enal

Nona-trans,trans-2,5-dien-4-one

Methyl salicylate

Non-trans-2-en-4-one

Non-1-en-4-one

Nona-trans,cis-2,6-dienal

Benzaldehyde

Deca-trans,trans-2,4-dienal

Hexanal

Isovaleric acid

3-hydroxy-7,8-dihydro-beta-ionol

Ethyl lactate

Ethyl dodecanoate

1-hexanol

Benzylacetic acid

Methyl 4-hydroxybutyrate

3(2H)-2-methyldihydro-thiophenone

Nerol

3-methyl-1-butanol (isoamyl alcohol)

Tyrosol

Methyl vanillate

(E)-2-hexen-1-ol

3-oxo-alpha-ionol

8-hydroxy-6,7-dihydrolinalool

Ethyl octanoate

3,4-dihydro-3-oxo-actinidol I

(E)-3-hexen-1-ol

3,4-dihydro-3-oxo-actinidol III

gamma-butyrolactone

3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine

7-hydroxy-6,7-dihydrolinalool

Isobutyl acetate

Benzyl acetate

Wine flavour compounds

Introduction

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  • Wine samples
    • 11 samples
    • Same base wine
    • Food-grade flavour compounds
    • Safe to smell and taste
  • This session
    • Trying the samples
    • Blind tasting test
    • Blending activity
  • Powerpoint slides

Wine flavour compounds

Introduction

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 1

Green bell pepper

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  • Grape variety, sunlight exposure, fruit ripeness

​

Wine flavour compounds

Sample 1

  • Grape

Green bell pepper

Wine styles

Threshold:

4 nanogram/L

3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine

Class: pyrazines

  • Various styles of Sauvignon Blanc

​

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

Influencing factors

Grape reception

Origins

1

Green bell pepper

2

​

3

​

4

​

5

​

6

​

7

​

8

​

9

​

10

​

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 2

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 2

Passion fruit

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 2

Origins

  • Grape, fermentation

​

Passion fruit

Wine styles

Threshold: 10 nanogram/�litre

4-MMP

Class: sulphur compounds

  • Various styles of Sauvignon Blanc

Influencing factors

  • Grape variety, ripeness, yeast strain

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

​

4

​

5

​

6

​

7

​

8

​

9

​

10

​

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 2

Passion fruit

alcohol

12%

4-MMP

0.000000003%

4-MMP

Threshold: 10 nanogram/�litre

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 3

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 3

Rose

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 3

Origins

  • Varietal character

Rose

Wine styles

Threshold:

150 µg/L

  • Most aromatic white wines

geraniol

Class: terpenes

Influencing factors

  • Grape variety, skin contact, yeast strain

​

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

​

5

​

6

​

7

​

8

​

9

​

10

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 4

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 4

Lychee

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 4

Origins

  • Varietal character

Lychee

Threshold:

2.5 µg/L

rose oxide

Class: terpenes

  • Gewürztraminer

Influencing factors

  • Grape variety

Wine styles

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

Lychee

5

​

6

​

7

​

8

​

9

​

10

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 5

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 5

Flint

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 5

Origins

  • Yeast

Flint

Threshold:

3 nanogram/�litre

benzyl mercaptan

Class: sulphur compounds

  • Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling

Influencing factors

  • Reductive winemaking, soil?

Wine styles

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

Lychee

5

Flint

6

​

7

​

8

​

9

​

10

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Specific anosmia

  • Anosmia: inability to smell
  • Specific anosmia: insensitive to specific aroma compound

​

  • 400 odour receptors
  • Genetically determined
  • Colour blindness
  • Independent of concentration
  • Spiked water sample during break

Wine flavour compounds

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Specific anosmia rates

Wine flavour compounds

1

Green bell pepper

3-isobutyl-2-

methoxypyrazine

1%

2

Passion fruit

4-MMP

2%

3

Rose

geraniol

16%

4

Lychee

rose oxide

9%

5

Flint

benzyl mercaptan

NA

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 6

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 6

Artificial pineapple

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 6

Origins

  • Fermentation

Artificial pineapple

Wine styles

Threshold:

2 mg/L

ethyl hexanoate

Class: esters

  • Fruity, early drinking wines

Influencing factors

  • Fermentation temp, juice clarity

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

Lychee

5

Flint

6

Artificial pineapple

7

​

8

​

9

​

10

​

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 7

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 7

Butter

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 7

Origins

  • Malolactic fermentation

Butter

Wine styles

Threshold:

250 µg/L

diacetyl

Class: ketones

  • Chardonnay

Influencing factors

  • Bacterial strain, yeast activity

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

Lychee

5

Flint

6

Artificial pineapple

7

Butter

8

​

9

​

10

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 8

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 8

Vanilla

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​

    • Cover the glass – long sniff

​

​

​

Wine flavour compounds

Sample 8

Vanilla

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 8

Origins

  • Aging in wood

Vanilla

Wine styles

Threshold:

300 µg/L

vanillin

Class: phenols, aldehydes

  • Oaked Chardonnay

Influencing factors

  • Barrel size, age of barrel, toasting

​

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

Lychee

5

Flint

6

Artificial pineapple

7

Butter

8

Vanilla

9

​

10

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 8

Vanilla

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 9

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 9

Cloves

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 9

Cloves

Threshold:

100 µg/L

eugenol

Class: phenols

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

Origins

  • Ageing in wood

Wine styles

Influencing factors

  • Barrel size, age of barrel, toasting
  • Oak-aged wines

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

Lychee

5

Flint

6

Artificial pineapple

7

Butter

8

Vanilla

9

Cloves

10

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Hirano et al. 2022

Wine flavour compounds

Sample 9

Cloves

Hold nose during tasting

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 10

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 10

Petrol

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 10

Origins

  • Bottle ageing of Riesling

Petrol

Threshold:

5 µg/L

TDN

Class: norisoprenoids

  • German and Alsatian Riesling
  • Clare Valley Riesling

Influencing factors

  • Sunlight, bottle closure

Wine styles

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

1

Green bell pepper

2

Passion fruit

3

Rose

4

Lychee

5

Flint

6

Artificial pineapple

7

Butter

8

Vanilla

9

Cloves

10

Petrol

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 10

Petrol

WSETglobal

📍

📍

Alsace, latitude 48°

Clare Valley, latitude 34°

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 10

Petrol

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Specific anosmia rates

Wine flavour compounds

6

Artificial pineapple

ethyl hexanoate

3%

7

Vanilla

vanillin

5%

8

Butter

diacetyl

4%

9

Cloves

eugenol

5%

10

Petrol

TDN

1%

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  • Rehearsal

1

Green bell pepper

(3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine)

2

Passion fruit

(4-MMP)

3

Rose

(geraniol)

4

Lychee

(rose oxide)

5

Flint

(benzyl mercaptan)

6

Artificial pineapple

(ethyl hexanoate)

7

Butter

(diacetyl)

8

Vanilla

(vanillin)

9

Cloves

(eugenol)

10

Petrol

(TDN)

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  • Blend green bell pepper and passion fruit

​

Wine flavour compounds

Blends

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  • Blend rose and lychee

​

Wine flavour compounds

Blends

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  • Blend vanilla and cloves

​

Wine flavour compounds

Blends

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  • Blend vanilla/cloves and butter

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Wine flavour compounds

Blends

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  • Blend vanilla/cloves and flint

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Wine flavour compounds

Blends

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Extra slides

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 3

Rose

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Precursor

A compound that becomes something else during a conversion.

​

geranyl glycoside → geraniol

cys - 4-MMP → 4-MMP

malic acid → lactic acid

TCP → TCA

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 4

Lychee

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample 4

Lychee

Ong 1999

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample

Grape jelly

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample

Origins

  • Vitis Labrusca / fox grape

Grape jelly

Threshold:

40 µg/L

methyl anthranilate

Class: esters, phenols

Influencing factors

  • Sunlight
  • Niagara, Concord

Wine styles

Grape reception

Destem/crush

Skin contact

Press

Clarification

Alcoholic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation

Maturation

Blending

Clarification/stabilization

Packaging

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample

Grape jelly

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Wine flavour compounds

Sample

Grape jelly

Nelson 1977

Variety

Foxiness rating

Methyl anthranilate (µg/l)

Carlos

5.1

0

Concord

4.9

1700

Canada Muscat

4.4

0

Moored

4.1

0

Niagara

3.7

600

Riesling + methyl anthranilate

3.3

700

Riesling

2.4

0

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Lallemand

Wine flavour compounds

Sample

Butter

diacetyl