Qualitative alcoholic and dealcoholized wine vapor-phase stimuli perceptions using a citation frequency-based method

Abstract

ABSTRACT Retronasal and orthonasal wine vapor-phase stimuli perceptions by 57 participants were obtained using a citation frequency-based method. Ariel Chardonnay (35.45%) and Ariel Rouge (35.19%) concentrates were used to create 5 ethanol concentrations (i.e. <0.5% abv, 3.75% abv, 7% abv, 10.25% abv, and 13.5% abv) for each type of wine. Overall, no significant differences were found among Chardonnay wine aromas and Rouge wine aromas. However, an increase in ethanol concentration significantly decreased the response probability for apple (p = 0.030) retronasally and significantly increased the response probability for alcohol (p = 0.013) orthonasally in Chardonnay wine. In Rouge wine, ethanol concentration significantly impacted response probabilities for ginger (p = 0.022) retronasally and bell pepper (p = 0.025) and wood (p = 0.039) orthonasally. Such findings suggest that the contributions of ethanol to the aroma of real wines may be subtle from a consumer perspective and orthonasal and retronasal qualitative descriptions for wines may not be equivalent. With further investigation and some modification, the use of a citation frequency-based method may be used in smell research to collect detailed, qualitative data from consumers or individuals with no or minimal sensory training.